


Deadly Paradise

by chaotic_billygoattt



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2020-12-21 08:28:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaotic_billygoattt/pseuds/chaotic_billygoattt
Summary: Giorgia Marino is a Lieutenant for an Australian Special Operatives Unit during World War 2, commanding her unit of all women through rigorous training to prepare for their fight on Guadalcanal. Although the US Marines were there, they never made contact through the weeks of rough terrain and harsh bloodshed. In the end, June is forced to make difficult decisions for the sake of her unit and her career in the military.





	1. In The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I had a book for The Pacific before this one with the same title, but then I hated the first one so I'm rewriting it. Enjoy because I have no idea what I'm doing.

**-**

**Before the War**

**-**

Giorgia Marino was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian Immigrant parents, Marco and Sara Marino. She would be the oldest of four Marino children, but only she was born in America. After multiple cases of racist harassment by their neighbors and people on the street for their ethnic ties to fascist Italy, Marco Marino moved his small family to Australia while keeping citizenship with America shall Giorgia ever want to return one day. Giorgia didn't remember much of America and had always considered Melbourne, Australia her forever home. Giorgia was only a few months old when they moved.

After a year of living in Melbourne, Giorgia would be joined by her younger brother, Bruno. The two would remain the only Marino children for four years before the twins came along. Giorgia had been five and Bruno had been four when the twins, Irene and Carla, were born in April 1926. Life went on as normally as it could for the Italian immigrants. Marco Marino worked for a construction firm and once all the kids were in school, Sara Marino worked as a receptionist in a small medical clinic to pass the time during the day. Giorgia had the job of making sure all the kids got home from school safe and on time. Not many of the kids at school liked Giorgia because of her heritage except for another immigrant, Stella. Her mother had immigrated from some where in Greece. Unlike Giorgia's parents, Stella's parents were older when she came around and Stella had been an only child. 

Giorgia had considered Stella another sister and the two looked relatively the same with the dark brown hair. Stella always went to school with the Marino kids since they were just down the street from her home. Giorgia and Stella would walk behind Bruno, Carla and Irene until they got to the train that took them across town to the school. If any of the kids at school messed with Stella or the twins, Giorgia was there with ready fists and Bruno behind her trying eagerly to calm her down and talk it out with who ever was causing a problem. This resulted in Giorgia winning many fights with the boys at school. 

During this time, fascism in Italy rose and news about it spread through out the globe. In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and the Japanese Army continued to invade China. Australian Armed forces began training in case of an invasion. By the start of World War II, Giorgia was 18 and had taken a day trip down to the Recruitment offices to volunteer to be a nurse, one of the select few jobs that got her close to any excitement. In 1940, after Bruno turned 18, he attempted to join the Australian Army, but was denied due to his failed physical exam: heart murmur. One of the many reasons many men couldn't join the army in many countries, including America. 

The usual scenario between siblings wanting to do something for their country; joining the military in some branch. Except both had been seemingly rejected at first which lead to a string of surprises that wound them up with jobs and secure careers. The only problem: leaving home.

**~**


	2. Royal Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any translations to Italian will be made using Google Translate and double checked over and over again to make sure it's as accurate as possible.

**-**

**September 1st, 1939  
Melbourne, Australia**

**-**

Giorgia woke up early, earlier than usual. She kicked her blankets off and sat up on the edge of her bed, wondering why she was awake two hours before she usually was. Her usual wake time had been 7 a.m., not 5 in the morning. She shrugged it off and decided to get ready for the day, she figured there must have been a reason for her to be this early, so she did argue with it. 

Stepping quietly on the wood floors, she moved from her bed to her closet to pick out her clothes for the day, which happened to be her mint green dress and her white cardigan. The dress came down to her knees with short sleeves that only covered her shoulders. The cardigan had longer sleeves to cover her arms and came down to about mid-thigh. It was one of her signature looks and most times rendered her younger sisters jealous of her impeccable style on any given day. 

In a matter of seconds, Giorgia had replaced her white, silk nightgown with her dress and cardigan with the appropriate undergarments. She pulled on her white, wool socks that came up to her ankles and frilled a little bit like tiny flower petals before slipping her black heeled shoes over top of them. She brushed her hair out of the knots that formed during her sleep and tied it back in a bun at the base of her neck to control the mild curls. Giorgia wasn't the biggest fan of cosmetics, but she believed a little bit of mascara helped give her eyes a more defined shape so she went with the bare minimum every day. She was already blessed with perfectly shaped eyebrows that were dark enough to not need to be filled in to give them definition. Giorgia had that raw, Italian beauty that her mother had. 

When she was done getting ready it was only quarter after 5. She opened her bedroom door to hear a silent house except for the quiet rustling in the kitchen. She stepped out of her room and into the hallway, the floor lined with a rug that made for easy stepping as to not wake up her siblings this early. Upon reaching the main floor, Giorgia saw her father making toast and coffee with his toolbox and lunch bag already packed and next to the back door. 

"Good morning, papa." She greeted as she entered the kitchen, startling her father just a bit. 

"Caro dio ragazza mia. I didn't even hear you come down the stairs." He stated, turning to face his eldest daughter. 

"Up early again, papa?" Giorgia asked as she approached the counter. 

"Oh, you know me. Can never sleep in unless it's Sunday." He joked as he moved his toast to a plate and took it and his coffee to the table. "And what's got you up this early?" 

"I don't know, just woke up. Figured I might as well clean up the yard a bit before the sun gets too harsh." Giorgia answered, beginning to prepare herself some breakfast to start her day. 

"Your brother got most of the branches from the tree out of the yard yesterday. Should just be leaves for you to rake." Her father informed her, sipping his coffee. 

"Shouldn't be too bad then." She smiled as she grabbed a pan from under the stove and a couple eggs from the small, pale fridge in the corner of the kitchen. 

"I know you'll get it done. You have good work ethic, better than most men I work with." He said, scowling at the end of his statement. 

"Now, papa. You can't give the young men too much trouble, they're just starting out. It's the older men like you you have to watch out for." She reminded him as he stood up from the table. 

"Both are just as bad, my dear." he told her, wiping the crumbs off his plate and placing it inside the sink. He turned to his daughter who stood at the stove, cooking her eggs for breakfast before placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Have a good day, il mio amore. I'll be home early for dinner." he said before grabbing his things and opened the back door. 

"Have a good day at work, papa!" She called quiet enough he could hear her and that she wouldn't wake the rest of the family. With her father gone to work and the rest of her family asleep still, Giorgia finished cooking the eggs in the pan in front of her before moving them to a plate. It was her usual breakfast unless her mother had been up before her and made something special for the kids. 

She ate quietly, reading a newspaper that was left behind from the previous day. Nothing new had gone on in town, it was more about what was going on around the world. The Japanese Imperial Army had continued to invade China ever since they resurfaced out of isolation. Germany was still recovering from the First World War and had begun invading some countries. Some deals were made that surpassed the Treaty of Versailles that marked the end of World War 1, but the country hadn't made any moves worthy of war so far, and Giorgia hoped they didn't. She read about the impact of the First World War and it terrified her. Giorgia had read everything she could on it. It intrigued her. 

When she was done eating, she set the paper to the side folded neatly and placed her plate in the sink, stacked on top of the other plate her father used. She wiped out the now cooled pan before placing it back on the stove thinking one of the other members of her family would use it. Next was the yard. 

She hung her white cardigan by the door and left quietly through the back. Leaves had scattered the green grass and small twigs were laid all over the ground and small patio. Weeds had invaded the small vegetable garden and the flower bed that surrounded the patio aside from the two steps. Small circular stones made a path from the steps to the shed and to the back gate where her fathers truck was parked next to the family car. The shed was on the right side of the gate and the small vegetable garden was on the left. A flower bed lines the fence from the garden to the patio, around the patio and along the fence to the shed. It was a small yard, but it was nice. 

Giorgia began by opening the shed and grabbing a pair of gloves and the rake. Burlap sacks sat in the corner of the shed, already filled with leaves and other yard waste just waiting to be taken to the dumping area outside of town. She grabbed the half full one and dragged it out with her, setting it by the shed as she began raking up the leaves and twigs on the ground. She made a pile on either side of the stone path before dragging the burlap sack to each pile and stuffing it with more leaves and twigs. 

When the grass was spotless, she grabbed the broom from the shed and swept all the leaves and twigs off the patio and the small table and chair set the family had. More chairs were stacked in the shed, but only four remained around the table. It made for easy cleaning. Giorgia took the leaves and twigs from the patio pile and stuffed them into the burlap sack before tying it off with some twine she found in the shed. With the leaves and twigs picked up, the yard was looking more like a royal garden. 

Giorgia picked the weeds from the flower bed and the garden quick and threw them into a bin with the rest of the weeds, keeping them separate from the rest of the yard waste. The vegetables would be ready to pick later in the month so she left them be for now. 

With the mandatory yard work done, Giorgia went back inside for a glass of water and realized it was on quarter after 6. This meant she still had roughly 45 minutes before the rest of her family rose for the day and she would have nothing to do until then. Looking back out at the yard, she realized the individual stones in the path seemed rather sunken in.

_We have extra dirt from when we planted more flowers in June. _She thought before going back outside to the shed. She found the extra dirt that had been kept in a bag before finding a small, handheld spade. She made her way through each stone; prying them up from the ground, pressing more dirt into the space before placing the stone back down and stepping it into a sturdy spot on the ground. When she was done, the stones weren't so sunken into the ground from constant use and they really appeared more in the long grass that seemed to be growing rapidly. 

Feeling proud of herself, she cleaned up her tools and extra materials before shutting the shed and going back inside with dirty socks, knees and hands. She took her shoes off at the door and washed her hands in the kitchen sink before wiping the dirt from the polished exterior of her shoes. She removed her socks as well and brought them both up to her room where she sponge bathed her feet and knees in her bathroom sink before finding new socks for the day, similar to the ones she had on previously. 

With clean socks and her heeled shoes back on her feet, she went back downstairs to see her mother awake and standing in the kitchen preparing herself some tea. 

"Good morning, mama." Giorgia greeted as she entered the kitchen. 

"Oh, Giorgia. How long have you been up?" Her mother asked, noticing Giorgia in the archway to the kitchen. 

"A couple hours now. I saw papa out the door to work." She answered, stepping toward the table and picking up the paper. 

"What did you do in that time?" Her mother asked, turning her gaze to the kettle on the stove. 

"Cleaned up the yard a bit, fixed the stone path." She replied, folding the paper neater than before and placing it on top of the radio that sat atop a small desk on the kitchen side of the archway. Her mother moved to look out the back door to see the newly cleaned yard. 

"Oh, cara, it looks wonderful. You even rose the stones a bit. Good for you, my girl." Her mother acknowledged, giving her praise before turning attention back to the stove. Giorgia smiled as she fiddled with the knobs on the radio as she turned it on and tuned it to the morning radio show. 

_"This morning, we gain news that Britain and France have declared war on Germany for the invasion of Poland. This comes after Germany had taken over land in other countries after striking deals with those who signed the Treaty of Versailles to mark the end of The Great War. As actions tense in Europe, leaders are watching the Japanese Empire and their moves on China, as well as the growing unrest in fascist Italy." _the radioman spoke, giving the current event news for the morning. 

"I knew something was wrong." Giorgia mumbled to herself as she turned the volume on the radio down, just as Bruno stalked into the kitchen. 

"What was all that about?" He asked, motioning to the radio. He was already dressed and ready for the day, much like Giorgia. 

"Mio figlio, quella era una dichiarazione di guerra." their mother answered before saying a small prayer for the civilians in Europe who might have to deal with Germany's motives. Not only did this sadden the household, but it sparked something within the two eldest children of the Marino family, something they couldn't name. 

**~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> caro dio ragazza mia: dear god my girl (she spooked his ass)  
il mio amore: my love  
cara : dear  
Mio figlio, quella era una dichiarazione di guerra: my son, that was a declaration of war


	3. Flyers & Fists

**-**

**September 1st, 1939  
Melbourne, Australia**

**-**

By 11 o'clock, Giorgia had left the house with her small hand bag with a few dollars to pick up some small items at the store for dinner. She took the tram to the downtown area where the streets were bustling and newspapers were being handed out like mad. One had flown away from it's stand without the owner knowing. Giorgia had been the only one to notice so she was the only one to catch it before it flew down the street. 

_ **JOIN THE ARMY TODAY! BRAVE MEN NEEDED NOW!** _

Giorgia read the first few lines and new instantly that the government was worried about an attack from Japan soon and that they wanted to gather up military strength. If they were still in need the next year, she knew for sure that Bruno would sign up immediately. Without hesitating, she brought the paper back to the stand, alerting the owner. 

"Here, sir. This one got away." She told him, placing it back in the stack and placing the paper weight on top. 

"Why, thank you, Miss. My Pa would kill me if we lost profit on the busiest day. Good day to you." 

"And to you." She exchanged in farewell before carrying on down the street towards the shop. Papers and flyers had been placed on the walls and windows of every shop down the entire street, advertising the need for soldiers and to Giorgia's surprise: nurses too. She had never had any prior medical experience aside from cleaning knee scrapes and cut fingers in the kitchen. 

She ignored the signs down the street until one young boy stopped her. He had two signs over his shoulders held together by leather straps. he rang a bell in one hand and was yelling information at the same time. 

"War efforts need women like you, miss! Join the nurses regiment today! No experience needed!" He shouted over the sound of the bell as Giorgia passed by him. 

_No experience needed. Maybe I could join._ She thought to herself as she carried on down the busy street. When she reached the shop she needed, the thought of joining the nurses had rattled her mind to the point where she didn't know how to act proper. She had bumped into many people, to which she apologised rigorously before walking away quickly. 

"Ah, Miss. Marino! Haven't seen you in a while. What can I help you with today?" The shopkeeper, Mr. Bradley, greeted as she entered the store in a hurried mess. She calmed down a bit when she was met with the cool air of the shop and straightened herself out. 

"Just picking some stuff up for dinner, Mr. Bradley." Giorgia replied, wiping her hands on the skirt of her dress. 

"What's your mother making tonight? I'm sure it'll be just as good as everything she's described to me before." He stated. Mrs. Marino had taken much of Italy with her when she immigrated, and her skills in the kitchen was one of them. Many of the friends she made when they moved to Australia had seen her works at Communal gatherings or any parties they were invited to. She was probably one of the best authentic cooks in Melbourne. 

"I have a list and that's all I can tell you." She joked as she walked the short isles of the rather small shop. She picked up cans of whatever her mother wanted her to find and brought it to the front. At the front, she got the slab of beef her mother wanted and bought it with the rest of the groceries. 

"Knowing your mother, your family will eat well tonight." Mr. Bradley stated. 

"I'll let you know how it is next time I come in." Giorgia said, going with the playful conversation. Mr. Bradley placed the cans in one paper bag and the meat slab wrapped in wax paper in another. 

"I look forward to it. You have a good day, Miss. Marino." He bid farewell as he placed the bags on the counter for Giorgia to take. 

"You as well, Mr. Bradley." She returned, taking the paper bags into her arms and leaving the store, using her foot to push open the door. The streets were still busy and bustling with people as the excitement for recruits grew bigger. Men in uniforms were also walking around, speaking to men young and old. A few of them stopped some young women, explaining the need for nurses. One older gentleman had stopped Giorgia, a flyer in his hand. 

"The Army needs women like you, join the nurses today, miss. I guarantee it'll be worth your time." he told her, shoving a flyer in one of her bags and walking away. Giorgia stopped in her tracks, looking at the flyer that was shoved into her bag. Women in uniforms took up most of it with information on nurse registration dates. 

Giorgia kept walking, the flyer staying where it was as she approached the tram. She took her spot on the bench, placing her bags at her feet as she took the flyer out to examine it more. The most notable detail was the fine print at the bottom. 

_ The Japs are nearing, be prepared_

That little tidbit had scared her more than the war announcement had earlier this morning. The Japanese Empire hadn't made any moves on Australia, but they were closer than the Germans. 

"You're not thinking about joining the army, are you Miss? The Army is no place for a young thing like you." A man said to her from in front of her. Giorgia looked up to see a man in his 20's, nice suit and slicked back hair, probably has a good job. 

"This, this is just a nurses flyer." She defended, showing him the other side of the paper. 

"I'm sure you Italians know lots about medicine considering your country is in shambles." he retorted, sparking anger within her. 

"Italy is not my country. Australia is my country." She defended once more. 

"Sure it is." He scoffed before an elderly man stepped in. 

"Leave the girl alone, sonny. If you had any guts you'd join to army too, just like every other young man your age." The old man scolded. 

"And lose my job? In your dreams old man." The young man spat, but to Giorgia he was beginning to look like a little boy with his attitude. 

"Then shut your trap. If you ain't gonna join the army, don't fucking talk about it." Giorgia spat, earning looks from both men, except the old mans expression turned to slight pride while the young man looks more angry than before. 

"How dare you talk to me like that. Do you know who I am?!" He exclaimed, standing up from the bench he was sitting on. 

"And egotistical jerk? A bully? Do enlighten me." Giorgia stated with a sly smirk, knowing she had bested him in verbal battle. The two had a bit of a stare down while the older man stood by watching before the young man when to raise a hand to Giorgia. Without thinking, she smacked his hand away with her left hand and sent a punch straight to his gut, causing him to double over and land on his knees. Without thinking, she raised her knee and it connected with the bottom of his jaw, throwing his head back and his body with it. Other passengers moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by anything or anyone as the older man looked at Giorgia in surprise. 

"Next time, you should think about raising your hand to a woman. You never know who she might be." Giorgia warned as the tram neared her street. She shoved the flyer back into the paper bag and picked them up. She left the tram as the old man followed. 

"I must say, miss. You gave us all quite a surprise. You handled yourself very well." He told her as they stopped on the sidewalk. 

"I fought a lot in school. I learned to protect myself." She admitted to the stranger. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you would fit in well with the Army, and not just a nurse." He told her with an honest expression. 

"Oh, no, I don't think...I could do something like that." She replied, looking down at the ground. 

"Sure you could. Here, take a look at this." He told her, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "A secret organization, my granddaughter found it, she's about your age. I know she's joining. Just think about it. The world needs girls like you." He told her, placing the folded piece of paper in her bags, on top of the nurses flyer. "Just think about it." He repeated before walking away, the opposite way that Giorgia needed to get home. 

Shock seeped in as Giorgia stood on the spot, watching as the old man disappeared down the street. Even when he was gone, her feet wouldn't move from their spot. She looked down at the paper in her bag; it was thin, much like the rest of the flyers going around town. It took a moment for Giorgia to wrap her head around what had actually happened- from the quarrel on the tram to the old man, Giorgia was confused and not in the right mind to make drastic decisions. So, in a quick thought with no second guessing, Giorgia had turned and started walking back to her home. When she left the house today, she didn't think she would have such an...eventful day, but when she arrived home, not only did she have the groceries she promised, but a red knuckle, a military flyer and a flyer for a secret organization. It was easy to hide the papers in her pocket before reaching her house, but it was not so easy to hide the red fist upon walking into her house. 

Red and bruised knuckles were easy to spot in the Marino family since Giorgia's first fight. In fact, Mrs. Marino had spent a whole year checking Giorgia's hands every time she got back from school in case she tried to hide a fight. There was not one altercation that was hidden from Mrs. Marino from any child. 

"It must have been busy in the town, you're twenty minutes late my child." Mrs. Marino greeted Giorgia as she shut the door with her foot. 

"The Army is looking for volunteers, men and women. I've been told about the Nurses at least twice today." Giorgia told her mother, setting the paper bags on the kitchen table. 

"Aye, my dear! Why is your hand so red?" Mrs. Marino questioned, ignoring Giorgia's statement. 

"There was a man on the tram, saw that I had a Nurses Recruitment flyer and thought I was thinking about signing up for the men's divisions. I let him know that he should never talk bad to a lady or try to raise his hand at one." Giorgia explained as Mrs. Marino looked at her with a look of disappointment, but also pride. 

"Oh, my sweet child. I adore you for standing up for yourself, but you can't go around fighting people like you did in school." She counseled, knowing her daughter had the kind of attitude to not let anyone ruin her day. 

"I know, ma. But he wasn't being very nice to me or the kind old man that tried to stick up for me first." Giorgia told, giving slight more detail by bringing up the old man from the tram. 

"Ah, my dear. If there's one thing I know about you and your fights, it's that there was always someone else you were defending." Mrs. Marino stated, bringing one of the bags up to the kitchen counter. "Why don't you wash up. I'll call you when dinner is ready." 

Without another word, Giorgia quietly stepped up the stairs and into the bathroom. She washed her hands under cold water to bring down some of the redness before drying them on a towel. When she was done, she quietly moved into her room and shut the door behind her. She took the flyers out of her pocket as she approached her vanity and sat down on the stool. She looked over the nurses flyer first, inspecting the tiniest of details like fine print and the picture of nurses. Giorgia knew all about propaganda and the techniques people used in their adverts that grabbed peoples attention. The smiling faces on the nurses made it seem like they were happy and hadn't seen the terror of war. Giorgia knew about propaganda, but she also knew about the stories from some of the older women who served as nurses in the Great War. While the men saw the action, the women saw the after math. 

Of course, there was a small income to being a nurse. Just like there was an income for soldiers plus what ever life insurance the Army makes you sign for your families. It would help her family out a lot if war came to Australia or if the men were sent to fight and jobs moved to women and prices increased while wages decreased. Every thing is the same in war, no matter where you are. The only exception is the difference between home and a war zone. 

Giorgia set the nurses flyer to the side before unfolding the paper the man gave her and inspected it even closer. Except, there was not much to inspect: no pictures, no catch phrases. Just words. 

** _'The Australian Army is looking for strong women to join an International Organization based in the United States of America. This organization is run on international funding in the prevention of the spread of war and ideologies that go against human rights and freedoms such as Communism and Fascism. Looking for NURSES, RIFLEWOMEN, LEADERS, SNIPERS and MARTYR SQUADS. _**

** _Info Meeting October 1st, 1939 @ 10 am, German Lutheran Trinity Church. Show physical citizenship and notice of this information at the door.'_ **

The words didn't even fill the page; a simple and to-the-point info structure. Giorgia read it over and over and over again until she was sure she had memorized it. It was ominous, to say the least. No name, no background info, no stats. Just a need for troops with a date, time and place. And yet, she thought it was comforting how anonymous it was. 

"Giorgia! Dinner!" Her mother called, taking her attention from the paper in her hands. Giorgia quickly folded both papers and stuffed them in a drawer for safe keeping. Without thinking any more of the second paper, she left her room and joined her family in the dining room. Her father and returned home and was seated at the table with Bruno and the twins as Mrs. Marino set the plates of food on the table. 

"Looks wonderful, dear." he stated as Giorgia sat in her spot at the table in between Mrs. Marino and Bruno. Giorgia was beyond exhausted now that curiosity had taken over her mind. She didn't dare show it, though. The last thing she wanted was for her family to find out about the papers or to question her about the encounters earlier today. She had always wanted to do something other than fight with estranged men on the tram and both flyers had given plenty of opportunity for her, but picking one was going to be difficult; and explaining to her family of her decision had high chances of disaster. Their parents had seen how cruel people can be, especially to immigrants. Melbourne was different, in ways. Secrecy seemed to be the best option in some cases, but her short temper often drew crowds. 

"Giorgia? Is everything alright? You're more silent than usual." Her father asked, turning the attention to his eldest child. In a panic, Giorgia thought of an excuse and went with it. 

"Oh, nothing. Just feeling a little under the weather after my day out, I guess." She lied, using her fork to push around the carrots left on her plate. 

"You're probably still stressed about what happened earlier, dear. A night of good rest will have you feeling better by morning." Her mother told her, placing her fork on the place mat beside her now empty plate. Portions were small tonight, but nonetheless still filling. Doing her best to not waste the food given to her, Giorgia finished her plate and excused herself from the table. It was decided that she would remain in her room for the rest of the night so her nightly routine was carried out; cleaning any makeup and dirt off her face, brushing out her hair and braiding it tightly. 

Once she was settled for the night, her eyes kept wondering over to the drawer in the vanity where the folded pieces of paper were sitting still. But after today, she couldn't take any more raging emotions and the mental exhaustion had her on the verge of tears. There was no fight with her conscience to tuck into her bed, pick up a book for an hour before shutting off the bed side lamp and dozing off, ending another eventful day in her life. 

~


	4. Decisions

**-**   
**Melbourne, Australia**   
**September 2nd, 1939**   
**-**

Giorgia awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed and energetic than she did the night prior. She had woken up a bit later than her usual 7am, but it didn't bother her much. She carried out her morning routine, picking out an outfit for the day. The pairing of her mint green dress and white cardigan from yesterday was hung on the back of her door instead of in the laundry hamper like usual, but after the events of yesterday she had no motivation to do otherwise until this morning. Switching her white nightgown for a royal blue dress with mid-length sleeves and replacing the outfit from yesterday with her nightgown on the back of the door took all of 5 minutes. The laundry hamper was close to full which meant today would be a possible laundry day for her. But that would have to wait. 

Her family were gathered, cleaned and dressed, around the kitchen table enjoying a breakfast of eggs and bacon when Giorgia appeared from the stairs. A smile and hug from her parents was all she needed before joining them at the table. 

"Yesterday you were up early and today you rise late. Is everything alright, my dear?" Her father inquired as he passed the plate of toast to her side of the table. 

"Everything is find and dandy, papa. Just needed the extra rest after waking so early yesterday." She answered with a smile. She was the last to finish her food and the last to leave the table. Bruno had disappeared to his room and the twins had gone outside to begin any chores Mrs. Marino had given them. Giorgia had gathered any cutlery and plates left on the table and took them to the sink to be washed. With nothing better to do, she joined her mother at the sink while everyone else had disappeared.

When everything was clean and put away, Giorgia brought out the smaller laundry basin, filled it with water and put it over the stove to boil. While the water began to heat, she ran upstairs to her room with the intent to grab her woven laundry hamper. But instead, she was met with a shock. 

"Bruno! What are you doing in my room?" She growled at her younger brother, jumping to grab the papers out of his hand. Clearly her hiding spot wasn't good enough. 

"You're going to join the army aren't you?" He asked as Giorgia realised he had only grabbed the nurses flyer and not the other one. But before he could see the other one, she snatched it from the open drawer and folded them both together, her grip on them tightening. 

"I was merely given them. I read them over, but I'm not considering anything." She answered angrily, ready to tear this boys head from his shoulders. "What are you doing going through my stuff anyway, you know you're not supposed to be in here." She scolded, slamming the open drawer shut and tucking the folded papers in between her undergarment and her breast for safe keeping. 

"I knew something was off with you last night. I wanted to know what happened and I knew you weren't going to tell me if I asked." Bruno defended himself. "Why would you even take a nurses flyer, you haven't shown any interest in medicine for as long as I can remember." Giorgia ignored her brother and instead grabbed her laundry hamper. 

"I know, but they were being handed out like mad and I don't need any suspicious eyes on me so I took one." She explained, balancing the laundry hamper on her hip and stepping towards the door, grabbing Bruno's sleeve and taking him with her. "And I don't want you getting any ideas about this either." She said as they reached the door frame before Giorgia turned and pointed a stern finger at Bruno. "And not a word of this to _ANY_ one, do you understand?" She warned, earning a nod from Bruno, although an unsatisfactory answer. A simple raise of an eyebrow was enough to get a verbal answer out of the kid. 

"Yes, I understand. I won't tell anyone." 

"Just between you and me." 

"Between you and me." 

"Good. Now go occupy yourself with something and stay out of my room." Giorgia stated, giving Bruno a slight shove out of her room and closing the door behind her. With the papers still folded in the safety of her undergarments, she went back down to the kitchen. The water wasn't boiling yet so she took her hamper of clothes out to the back yard to where the clothes line was along with the outdoor clothes mangle. After setting the hamper on the stone in the dirt, she went back inside, avoiding the twins pleas for entertainment.

When she came back inside the water was near boiling, a few more minutes and it would be ready for the clothes. Giorgia gathered a bin of cold water and brought it outside before going back for the basin of hot water, using a combination of towels and ovenmits to carry it to the stones where the mangle was. The hot water basin was placed under the mangle and soap flakes were added the the cold water as she began to dunk the clothes in the cold water, wringing them out and dunking them again. She used the dolly peg to mix the clothes around to ensure a good clean before wringing them out and putting them into the bin of hot water before wringing them through the mangle. 

After every item was rung through the mangle, Giorgia hung them on the clothes line to dry. A row of colorful dresses and blouses were left to dance in the breeze until dry. The basins were returned to their spots in the house and the mangle was dried and covered to prevent rust and protect from the elements. When her chores were done for the day, she retired to her room for some solitude and to finally take the papers out of her garments. 

Her spot at the vanity was resumed and the papers were unfolded as she read them over again, ten times through. The one that gained most of her attention was the "secretive" one. It could either be what it said it was, or it was a trap. Giorgia had roughly a month to decide if she wanted to have any sort of participation with the secretive organization or if she wanted to play it safe and join the nurses. At the rate she was going, the nurses would be a better option. No combat. No chance of injury. No chance of death. And yet there was still a salary involved. An easy win. 

**-**  
The Next Day  
-

Giorgia donned her lavender purple blouse and her dark grey skirt to the City Hall where a makeshift recruitment center was put it place, for both soldiers and nurses alike. She carried her small handbag with her which contained the nurses flyer and any legal identification she may need. There wasn't a line outside, and Giorgia took that as a welcoming sign. Her one inch heels clicked in her steps as she entered the building, only to be met with rowdy men and officers in an array of uniforms. She took the nurses flyer out of her handbag and approached the first empty desk she could find. The young man at the desk noticed Giorgia and gave her a look over. 

"Lady, you're not thinking about joining the Army, are you?" He asked, looking up at her. 

"Oh...no. I'm actually looking for the nurses recruitment. Could you point me in the right direction?" She explained, trying to keep a calm and polite tone for as long as she could. 

"Yes, ma'am. Nurses recruitment is just down the hallway to your left. The door at the end of the hallway should take you right to the conference room." The man in front of her directed politely. Giorgia gave a quick 'thank you' and was on her way down the hallway like the man had instructed. Upon entering the conference room, she was met with nervous stares and looks of judgement from the other girls in the room, many with nurses flyers in hand. Being one of the last to enter the room, she took a seat on a bench, alone. Soon enough, an officer stood at the front of the room and gathered the attention of every woman within seconds. 

"Assessment for the nurse corp will begin shortly. Please take your turn and write your name on one of the sheets on this board and return to your seats. You will be called accordingly." He announced before leaving the imaginary spotlight. Giorgia followed the rest of the women towards the cork-board on wheels. She waited in line as patient as she could before writing her name down at the top of an empty sheet of paper, followed by about fifteen other girls her age. 

She admired how many women had shown the same day she did. If all went well, there would never be a shortage of nurses available for anything. Many of them probably had dreams and aspirations to be nurses. Giorgia had simply needed something to do rather than sit at home and practice being a good house wife. Her past in fighting had pretty much ruined her chances with any boy in Melbourne. The only true friend she had was Stella. Even she couldn't pick a match for the stubborn and rowdy side of Giorgia. She could pretend all she wanted to be naturally polite, calm and content. But it wouldn't be long before the spark turned to flame and her rather harsh side emerged. 

Giorgia's attention was moved from her thoughts to a line of gentlemen standing in front of the board, collecting papers and splitting them evenly before bringing them to separate side rooms. When they returned, they each called a name and escorted that person into their respective room. Giorgia assumed there was an assessor in there. They were going to ask questions and if they were lucky, they might know the person who came to be a nurse in training which would then lead to a good word being spoken about the person being assessed. Soon enough, each room had gone through what seemed to be an entire page of names. And Giorgia was called on. 

"Giorgia Marino." One of the young men in uniform called, butchering the pronunciation of her first name by over-pronunciating the 'io' at the beginning of her name. But nonetheless she ignored it, and stood up almost immediately. The young man that had called her name stepped towards one of the doors and Giorgia followed swiftly. Her head was held up with withering confidence and her posture was perfect, as if she hadn't been scolded enough about her bad posture by her mother. The young man opened the door for her and when she entered the room she was met by an older looking fellow, who's hair line had receded to the back of his head leaving only tuffs of grey hair above his ears which had been slicked back in a controlling manner. 

"Please sit down." He greeted, motioning to the chair in front of the desk in which he hadn't moved from. She obeyed, and tucked her feet under the chair as she sat, legs crossed at the ankles and her hand bag laid gently on her lap. "State your name." He stated in a demanding, but neutral tone. 

"Giorgia Marino." 

"Age." 

"18" The man sat for a moment, assessing her first couple answers, but Giorgia could tell he was stuck on something early. 

"Marino, Marino.....Marino." He rambled quietly, as if the name was familiar but not familiar enough to remember. "Marino....you're one of the Italian kids, moved from Italy to America and then to Australia?" He questioned, looking up from the paper in front of him. 

"Yes, that is correct." 

"And you're the oldest one, right? The one that likes to stir up trouble at school?" He questioned once more. 

"The oldest, yes. Whether or not I liked to cause trouble in school is a bit....complicated." She answered politely. 

"Then un-complicate it for me." She was taken aback by his request, but nonetheless she obliged. 

"I never wanted to _start_ the fights per se, more or less wanted to...lets say scare the other person away. Many a times they were being a bother to me or my siblings and as the eldest it seemed fit I protect them." She answered, only to look down at her lap in shame. "Looking back on it now, not the smartest move." She mumbled to herself. The man at the desk examined her with a keen eye, taking in both her appearance and the answers she had given him. 

"Miss. Marino, do you know what the nurse corp is about?" He asked simply. She didn't know the exact answer, but a rough guess seemed to be the better route to take. 

"Saving lives and help heal those who have been wounded." She answered, but in a questioning tone. 

"Forming relations with each other so that a team bond is formed. Team bonds work best in this line of work and without team bonds, many people- especially soldiers coming from the front line- will leave with deformities and injuries that could have been further prevented or saved, or they leave in a casket. From what I've heard about you in your schoolyard fights, you don't have the skills to work as a team." He explained to her. "And as a school district counselor, I know you have close to no experience in any working setting, not even a medical interest record. The Nurses Association is looking for strong minded, strong hearted and willing women who have at least some experience in a workplace be it even a newspaper courier." He continued. Giorgia only looked at him with a blank expression as she tried to hold back any anger that was starting to rise. "I can only say this as respectfully as I can, but you're just not what we're looking for to join our other Nurses in training." He concluded, setting down his pencil and clasping his hands over her, what she assumed was, report. 

Without hesitation, Giorgia uncrossed her legs and pushed her handbag onto her wrist as she stood up from the chair. With a simple tug of her skirt her appearance was exactly as it was when she arrived. "Thank you for your time." A simplistic answer and farewell, suitable for the man who had basically humiliated her before she left the room before he could say anything else. She didn't need the young man to open the door for her, she didn't need any directions out of the conference room and she certainly didn't need the young man at the Army Registration desk to follow her out of the building. However, she did get the last option. 

"So, how'd it go with the nurses?" He asked politely as Giorgia hit the top of the small set of stairs leading to the building. 

"You want the honest answer or the overly optimistic answer?" She inquired sarcastically, halting her steps. 

"Honest?" 

"It went terrible." She stated bluntly before turning to the street and walking away from the young man. 

"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad. Maybe a night out will cheer you up?" He suggested. Giorgia knew what he was trying to do and to be frank, she wasn't interested in dates after what she had just been through. She stopped once more and turned to the man following her. 

"Look, I'm sure you're a super nice guy and I'd honestly love to have a night out on the town with someone who isn't my family for once, but after what happened in there, I would more than love to go home and not be bothered. So if you wouldn't mind, I'm going home now." She told him as polite as she could in her agitated state, almost immediately regretting her tone. But to her surprise the young man in uniform before her was more understanding than the average Joe in town. 

"I get that. You look stressed anyway." He said, taking a step back. "Can I at least get your name before you go?" He asked rather shyly. For Giorgia, this was a relief. She'd seen many men get angry when rejected by another woman and this one hadn't pestered her until she changed her mind. Grinning, she fixed her posture. 

"Giorgia. Giorgia Marino." She introduced herself, her posture the same as before she was verbally assaulted with a truth she wasn't aware about. 

"It's lovely to meet you, Giorgia. I'm Raymond, Raymond Davis." He paired, shaking Giorgia's hand with a smile. Once Giorgia had pushed past her irritated state, this new boy seemed like less trouble than she had originally thought. 

"It's nice to meet you, Raymond." She said, less irritated and less stressed than she was a moment before. 

"Please, call me Ray. Raymond has always been too formal for my liking." He corrected politely. It had occurred to Giorgia that it most likely wasn't her rowdy past that kept her from finding love in any sort of way, but it was her attitude. And suddenly, the feeling of an existential crisis coming on had disrupted her seemingly 5 seconds of joy. 

"Well...it has been nice meeting you Ray, but I really must be going." She said as her smile fell to nothing. She fixed her handbag on her wrist as Raymond nodded. 

"Yes, it was nice meeting you as well, Miss. Marino. You take care of yourself." He bid farewell before both bodies turned opposite ways and either returned to their job or started the long walk back home. 

The entire way home Giorgia spent fighting with herself. _You should have listen to ma, she told you fighting would kill your future. _She was livid with herself. Her past with fighting had just diminished her future as a possible nurse and she was just now realizing that the only reason boys her age never lasted very long in her good graces was because she hadn't given them a chance! _How could you be so stupid! You let your pride get the best of you all this time! _By the time she got home she was so lost in thought that she missed the first step to the front porch and landed face first on the stairs. 

At first she was numb, she didn't move other than to put her hands under her to push her torso up from the stairs. She lay on the stairs, allowing her mind to relax and let go of any angry thoughts as she felt a bit of blood fall from her nose. She had landed on her face, then her hip. As she came back to reality, she felt the pain in her nose, and then her hip and then the foot in which got caught on the first step. 

Carefully, she rotated so that she was sitting on the middle step, looking out into the street. No one had noticed, no one had seen what she did. No one was there to provide a helping hand. Giorgia wasn't sure if that was what she wanted or if she wanted someone there to help her. Either way, her nose had still bled, her face still stung and her freshly cleaned blouse was soiled with blood. 

"What a great way to end an already shitty day." 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mio caro = my dear


	5. One Giant Leap For My Future

**-**   
**Melbourne, Australia- 1939**   
**-**

The following days of Giorgia's rejection had been chaotic to say the least. Her mother had worried she had been in another fight after seeing her nose all busted up from the porch step incident, but she was rest assured that it was simply Giorgia's clumsiness returning to her. On a brighter note, she had bumped into Ray Davis once more at the market. He had still donned his military uniform since he had still been working in the recruitment offices. 

On one particular day, he had offered to take Giorgia to lunch where she learned he was an intelligence officer. And that he could translate German, French and Japanese. It came as a surprise that he didn't know Italian yet, but she didn't let it bother her. Most of their interactions were spent by him telling most of his stories of being with the Army and Giorgia listening intently with an adoring expression. The two grew closer as September 1939 came to a close.

The last few days of the month, Giorgia spent reading over the paper even more. October 1st came up quicker than she had expected and the morning of, she was awake by 8. The meeting was at 10, and it was at least a half hour walk to the Church in which the meeting was being held at. Her citizenship papers sat in her bedside stand for an entire month leading up to this day. 

But by 8:30 she was still in bed, staring up at the ceiling, debating with herself if she should attend. It was only an information meeting. What could be the harm? The only harm was that the paper was so bland and vague that Giorgia didn't know what she would be walking into if she arrived at the Church for 10. 

"Oh, why the hell not." She groaned as she pushed the blankets off of her and got out of bed. She didn't bother making it right away as she immediately went for her closet. She picked out the outfit that she wore only once every few months: dark grey trousers, grey button up shirt and black suspenders complete with her only pair of dress shoes that didn't have a heel or pointed toe and was done up with laces and not a thin strap through a tiny buckle. 

She didn't worry about cosmetics this morning, only getting dressed and pulling her hair back into a braid that was then rolled into a bun at the base of her neck. By the time she was dressed and ready with her bed made and room clean, it was 9:15. She grabbed her identification papers and the folded piece of paper and brought them downstairs where her jacket was at the front door. Her family was awake and enjoying breakfast at the kitchen table, all except her father who had left for work earlier that morning. She stuffed the papers into a pocket on the inside of her coat before her mother began asking questions. 

"Giorgia, do you want something to eat? I made lots." Mrs. Marino asked as Giorgia pulled the jacket over her shoulders, pushing her arms through the sleeves. 

"No thanks, mama. I'm running late for something. I'll eat when I get back." She said, making sure the laces on her shoes were tied before opening the door. 

"Where are you going so early?" Mrs. Marino questioned, setting a plate of toast on the table and stepping towards the archway. 

"I'm just going out, ma. I'll be back after lunch." Giorgia answered before leaving the house and closing the door behind her. It was a clear, but chilly day on the first day of October. She knew exactly where the German Lutheran Trinity Church was even if she didn't follow that religion or go to that Church ever. 

Her walk there was hurried and undisturbed. When she arrived it was around 9:50 which meant the uniformed men standing in front of the doors were bound to go inside soon. When she approached the door, the stepped forward to stop her and she was stopped approximately 3 meters from the door. 

"Papers please." One of the men said and Giorgia carefully reached inside her pocket for the folded piece of paper first, handing it to one of the men before getting her identification papers and handing it to the same man. The man read over the papers with precision, making sure there were no disturbances in the ink that may prove it to be fake, while the other kept an eye on Giorgia, making sure she didn't make any suspicious moves. 

"Your documentation is alright. You may proceed." The man told her as he handed back her papers before the two stepped back towards the door and opened them for her. She gave a nod in thanks and stepped inside the church where she was met by about 20 other women ranging anywhere from 18 to 30 years old. They all sat at a different pew and only a few had made any acknowledgement to Giorgia's existence. 

One of the girls that turned to notice Giorgia had waved her over, noticing the clear nervous feeling she had. And Giorgia didn't waste any time in walked over to the front pew to sit down. 

"Hey, I'm Frances Porter. It's nice to meet you." The girl greeted as Giorgia sat down next to her. 

"Giorgia Marino. It's nice to meet you too." Giorgia greeted with a smile before looking around. "I wasn't expecting this many people to show." She stated. 

"I think many of them are nurse registry rejects. I know I am." Frances told her, earning Giorgia's attention once more. 

"So am I. They didn't want me because of my fighting in school." Giorgia explained, even though it probably wasn't necessary. After a few minutes passed, the doors were opened once more and an older man in uniform entered the Church. 

"Welcome, ladies, to your first official IMCU meeting." He greeted as he approached the front of the pews and stood in front of the alter. His most defining feature seemed to be his American accent. "IMCU stands for International Military Combat Unit. The IMCU has been gathering troops from all over the world, teaching many of them English and training them in combat. The IMCU was formed in 1921 and has been a secretive organization for the most part and we hope to keep it that way." He explained in a rushed and stern manner.

"All of you are here because you received one of these," he said, holding up a piece of paper that had the same words Giorgia had memorized by now printed in the middle of the page. ", and you believe you have what it takes to fight like the men in the Army. I applaud your solemn bravery already. But, this is not your average military unit. Should you choose to advance with our unit, you will be trained until you cannot be trained no more. You will not be thrown into a battlefield without a strategically thought out plan and our Commanding Officers will not be at fault for the deaths of our troops because of their demands. Our Commanding Officers have always made sure we go into combat with the best route out. We have not lost more than 10 troops in a battle of any sort since we have began operating." He explained as if they were already part of the unit. Every single woman in that Church was at a loss for words. 

"If you decide you do not like what we are offering, then you may leave. But rest assured, any word on the street about this organization coming from you, you will be hunted and executed immediately. There is no way around it." His words haunted the women before him. "If you decide that you want a taste of what we have to offer, please stay and listen to my next speech. If not, you are free to leave." He stopped and almost immediately, half the women were gone out the front door, their information papers confiscated by the men at the door. 

Giorgia and Frances stayed; their eyes glued to the man in uniform in front of them, waiting for his next words. 

"For those of you that have stayed, I can tell you don't scare easy. Now that I have a more promising audience, my name is Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smith. I served in the end of World War 1 in the American Marines. I had the honors of being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel when I joined the IMCU and I take pride in training only the finest soldiers." He began with a more welcoming tone. Giorgia and Frances let the tension in their shoulders go as they relaxed a bit. "It was my idea that women could fight in a war under military command and I will be in charge of training any and all women I can round up who believe they can. I will say this now, this is not me being a total creep, this is me living out my daughters dream." He said as his tone hit a saddened note. He paused for a second, looking down at the ground then back up at the women still sitting in the pews. "My daughter passed away from pneumonia as a young adult, about a year ago, and she had strong beliefs that women could be just as strong, physically and mentally, as the men who serve our country and the world. In her honor, I started this idea of rounding up women like you from around the world to form one unit, a unit unlike any other. With one goal in mind: making the world safe."

"Countries fight with one another constantly, but what if we could use a unit brought together by like-minds, to show unity among different ethnicities, different origins and different religions. If a group of soldiers can show the world what true unity and teamwork looks like, then maybe, just maybe, world leaders will see that there is more than just conflict between allies. And wars like The Great War wouldn't have to happen and caused years of economic unrest." When Lieutenant Colonel Smith finished talking, each woman was at a loss for words. Not only was this guy good at planning and giving speeches, but he was very convincing. Instead of giving blank faces, Giorgia and Frances began to clap, slowly at first but once the others joined in it was a chorus of applaud. 

"Do any of you have any questions before we move on?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back. A couple hands shot up, but nothing from Giorgia or Frances. He answered them one by one in an orderly fashion. 

"What happens if we begin training, but we don't meet the standards?" 

"You will be sent home." 

"Where will we be trained?" 

"Our main base of operations is in the US, but we have many different bases around the globe so troops can get a feel for different landscapes." 

"Is there any money involved? Any life insurance for our families if something were to happen to us?" 

"There is a salary and life insurance is mandatory if we send you to war." 

With there being no more questions, Michael Smith began handing out envelopes. Giorgia and Frances opened their immediately. Inside, was a boat ticket to California and instructions on how to get on said boat. 

"Enclosed in these envelopes is your one way ticket to training, should you choose to join us on one hell of a journey. If you decide to come to America, you will be given you're next step tickets upon your arrival. If you are dead set on joining us, you can follow me into the back where we will set up your first gear pack so you'll be prepared for your arrival in America." He explained, pointing to a door to the right of the alter where another man in uniform was standing, one Giorgia or Frances hadn't noticed before. "If you need time to think about it, you have until the end of the month. Boat leaves November 1st, 10 a.m. sharp. No delays, no extra time. The boat will not wait for you." He concluded as he made his way back up to the alter and turning to face the women. "I have great faith in all of you and I wish to see you in America. If you think you are dead set on joining, please feel free to stay. If not, you are free to go." He finished. Giorgia and Frances watched as all the other women slowly made their way out of the pews and out of the Church, their initial information papers taken, but their envelopes remained with them. Giorgia turned to Frances in question. 

"Are you staying?" She asked her new acquaintance. Giorgia had no career with the nurses and yet she had a strong urge to serve her country. This could be a once in a life time opportunity for her and she couldn't let it go to waste. 

"It's either this or my parents set me up with an arranged marriage, so I'm staying." Frances answered. Both girls could feel their heartbeat in their ears as a range of emotions flooded their senses. Without sharing words or glances, both girls turned their heads to face the Lieutenant Colonel and nod: they were staying. They wanted this, they _needed_ this. Frances needed this to run away from a life she didn't want and Giorgia needed this because staying home and helping her family keep the house in check wasn't enough for her. 

"Well then, this is more than last time." Michael stated, looking only at the two remaining young girls in front of him. "Follow me then." He said, nodding his head towards the door. Giorgia hesitated to leave the pew, but with a gentle nudge from Frances she was out of the pew and heading for the door, arm in arm with her new found friend. Michael Smith turned to them at the door and smiled. 

"I have other places to be, but our ladies here will get your situated with everything you need. I'm glad you two decided to stay. I'll you two on the boat to your new home." He bid farewell before giving a salute to the girls and walking away from the door and eventually out of the Church. The man guarding the door lead them into the room where two ladies were sitting at two separate desks donning the usual doctors attire. Giorgia went to one desk and Frances went to the other and sat down before each of the ladies. The question process was short and sweet. 

"Name." 

"Giorgia Marino." "Frances Porter." 

"Age" 

"18." "18." 

"Date of birth." 

"August 6th, 1921." "February 10th, 1921." 

"High school graduate?" 

"Yes." "Yes." 

"Any work experience?" 

"No." "No." 

When the important questions were asked and answered, the two were herded into separate rooms to be measured. Their height and weight were taken down and their clothing sizes were also noted. Both girls had similar physique: slender, broad shoulders, average height and average weight for girls their age. After the measurements came the physical: beats per minute was checked, breathing rate was checked and any other things doctors look for when performing a physical check up on anybody. Both girls passed with 100%. 

When everything was done, they were sent back out to the desks while the ladies went into a different room to retrieve some things. Giorgia made no effort to speak to Frances and Frances made no effort to speak with Giorgia, even if they were only a couple feet away. Something about this whole situation had them shaken to the core, and nervous. Clammy hands and nervous eyes darting back and forth and to anything that moved. Giorgia rubbed her sweaty palms on her knees hoping her trousers would wipe her hands dry of nervous sweat. Everything had happened so fast today that Giorgia didn't even know how to tell her family she was going back to America to hopefully be a soldier in a unit of lady soldiers. If the town found out about it, she would definitely be shamed for being 'unladylike' or 'a poor house wife'. What would her father think? _What would her mother think?_

The women coming back into the room had startled both Giorgia and Frances. They had placed a box wrapped in brown butchers paper and twine on the desk in front of each girl. The paper had their respective names and their given 'rank' on the side and the twin was loosely tied around the box which made for easy carrying. 

"This is all you'll need for your trip to America. Take care and do not tell anybody about what you've heard here today. Tell your families if you must but do not mention any names. The less they know, the better. Good luck to you both." They said, pushing the packages to the girls and walking away, out of the room. Frances had been the first to stand up and take her box in hand, examining the outside. Giorgia followed suite as the man in uniform escorted them to the front door where, like the other women, their initial information papers were taken by the men at the doors. When the girls left, the men went back inside and the doors to the Church were locked. 

"What do you think is in here?" Frances asked as they stood on the curb, both examining the paper wrapped box in their hands. 

"Probably uniforms." Giorgia muttered, grabbing a hold of the twine that wrapped the box and letting her hand fall to her side. 

"What are you going to tell your family?" Frances asked, mimicking Giorgia's stance as they watched the bustling street before them. 

"I have no idea." she answered blatantly as a car drove up to the curb. In the drivers seat, was the old man from the tram, the one who gave Giorgia that paper. 

"Hey, grandpa." Frances smiled as she opened the passenger side door. 

"Hello, sweetie." He smiled before noticing Giorgia. "So you took my advice, huh?" He asked. 

"I guess I did." Giorgia replied with a polite smile. 

"Do you need a ride home? I'm sure my grandpa wouldn't mind." Frances asked, pointing to the backseat. There was no argument there. Giorgia was beyond exhausted and walking home would only cause for a catastrophe when she would get home. 

"Sure." She accepted as Frances opened the door to the back seat. Giorgia gave her street address and the rest of the ride was quiet. Frances had her box seated on her lap while Giorgia had hers by her feet. She couldn't bare to look at it because thinking about what could be inside only hurt her head more than it was beginning to. Upon arrival at her house, Frances stepped out to the open the back door and Giorgia got out with her box in hand. 

"It was so nice to meet you today. I'll see you at the boat, yeah?" She smiled as Giorgia closed the back door. 

"Yeah. It was nice to meet you too. Thanks for the ride." Giorgia smiled to both Frances and her grandfather. Frances smiled once more, as if the meeting hadn't drained her of energy like it did to Giorgia. Giorgia stood on the side walk as Frances got back in the car with her grandfather and the two drove off down the street. When they were no longer in view, Giorgia turned to face her house. It was the same house that had sheltered her since the Marino family first moved to Melbourne. So many stories could be told about this house and the family had put so much time and effort into making it a home. And Giorgia was leaving it all behind because she felt insufficient in her life. Sure, she had her best friend Stella and now a possible lover boy, but a lot of the girls she graduated with were going off to be nurses, and the rejection of that field was more than heartbreaking. The outbreak of war in Europe had gotten everyone on edge and Giorgia had a solemn feeling that she could do more for a war effort, should it come to town. 

"Giorgia, where have you been? Ma's worried sick about you." Carla called from the front porch, grabbing the attention of her older sister almost immediately. 

"I'll be in in just a moment. Go back inside." Giorgia demanded as she took her time wallowing in the fear of her decision. Carla went back inside and soon after, Giorgia forced her feet to move and so was she. The clock on the wall read 12:28 p.m. and a nervous Mrs. Marino was pacing the kitchen until she noticed Giorgia in the doorway. 

"Mio dio Giorgia dove sei stato, sei stato via per quattro ore senza alcuna spiegazione di dove stavi andando avresti potuto essere ferito e non sapremmo dove trovarti." Her mother bombarded Giorgia with a lecture as she took her identification papers out of her jacket and hung it in the closet by the door. 

"Mama, you don't have to worry about me anymore. It was important, something I had to do." Giorgia assured her mother, but it was no use. Mrs. Marino kept lecturing her eldest about leaving so abruptly and with no telling her the where abouts. When her eyes fell onto the box Giorgia had in her hand, her words discontinued. The writing on the paper was visible to her mother, Giorgia's biggest mistake. 

"Private Giorgia Marino....mio dio. You've joined the army haven't you?" Mrs. Marino questioned, earning the attention of Bruno and the twins, who were present in the kitchen. 

"Mama, I have to do this. I have no future here. I can't find a husband on my own like you would want me to and I got rejected from the Nurse Corp a month ago. This is an opportunity for me to make a name for myself, to prove I'm not as useless as the school guidance counselors told me I was." Giorgia tried to explain to her mother, as Mrs. Marino sat down on the living room chair in shock. "Mama, Starò bene, lo prometto. Questo è solo un salto da gigante per il mio futuro."

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations:
> 
> Mio dio Giorgia dove sei stato, sei stato via per quattro ore senza alcuna spiegazione di dove stavi andando avresti potuto essere ferito e non sapremmo dove trovarti =  
My god Giorgia where you've been, you've been gone for four hours without any explanation of where you were going you could have been hurt and we wouldn't know where to find you
> 
> Starò bene, lo prometto = I'll be fine, I promise
> 
> questo è solo un salto da gigante per il mio futuro = This is just a giant leap for my future


	6. Saying Goodbye

**-**   
**November 1st, 1939**   
**Melbourne, Australia**   
**-**

Giorgia's father had not been home when she arrived at the front door with the box in hand. Only her mother and siblings knew and promised to keep quiet until he had gotten off work. The silence around the dinner table that night wasn't pleasant, nor was it entirely awkward. Giorgia was the first bring it up. Simply mentioning that she would be going back to America for a long time. At first, he had thought it was a joke and laughed it off. But when he realized that she was not, things turned sour. 

"Why couldn't you just sign up to be a nurse!" 

"Because they rejected me!" 

"Why do you have to go back to America? You know how they treated us there!" 

"I won't be there to live, papa! I'm going there to train!" 

"What do you need training for anyway, huh?! So you can be a booze hound soldier like the rest of the boys in town!"

"I want to do something with my life! I don't want to sit around and play house! I want to LIVE!" 

"And what's so bad about what you have now! Is it not good enough for you, are _we_ not good enough for you?!" 

"That's not what I meant!" 

A series of stomping footsteps upstairs and two door slams later, the house went silent. Mrs. Marino sat on the couch in the front of the house, silently sobbing into a handkerchief. Bruno had taken the twins out of the house and down the street to the park; they heard none of it. Giorgia had not left her room for three days after that, only for the exceptional bathroom break and to retrieve the tray of food her mother left for her in front of her door. Her and her father had not spoken for several days after she emerged from her fortress of solitude. A week and a half after their altercation, Mrs. Marino had sent Bruno, Irene and Carla out of the house after dinner, leaving herself, Giorgia and her father alone in the kitchen. The two sat in silence, not looking at one another, while Mrs. Marino poured the tea. 

Giorgia sipped on hers while Mr. Marino hadn't even thought about touching his. Mrs. Marino had been fed up with their anger for one another. They only had a couple weeks left as a family before Giorgia left for America and Mrs. Marino did not want those last couple of weeks to be wasted in anger. She had had enough. After two hours of conversation at the table, their family was at least somewhat back to normal. Mr. Marino did not agree with Giorgia going away for such a dangerous reason at such a young age, and Giorgia was tired of living her unfulfilling life of house work and store runs. She was grateful for the life her parents blessed her with, but like many young adults her age, she wanted to do more for herself instead of living out of her parents wallets. 

Three days before Giorgia was set to leave, she put on her best clothes and gathered the strength she needed to tell Raymond. The pair had grown close since meeting at the recruitment offices. She hadn't told her parents about him yet because she had a lingering feeling that if they knew about Raymond, they'd try to talk Giorgia into staying in Melbourne for him. 

Giorgia was in the midst of putting on her pale pink dress when there was a knock at the front door. She thought nothing of it as she completed her outfit with her frilly white socks and black heeled shoes and eventually, her black over coat. Both the dress and the coat were long sleeved to help protect from the November weather and her dress came down below her knees. As she assessed her outfit she heard a knock on her bedroom door. 

"Giorgia, there's someone at the door here to see you." She heard her mothers voice from the other side of the wood plank. 

"I'll be down in a minute." She said, grabbing her handbag for accessory and taking one last look in the mirror. When she opened the door to leave her room, she was met with her mothers surprise and questioning gaze. 

"You never mentioned anything about a boy recently." She simply stated, which sent Giorgia into her own state of confusion. Without speaking, the two went back downstairs and Giorgia was slightly alarmed to see Raymond standing in the doorway where his Sunday best. 

"Ray...I wasn't expecting you to find my house to quick." Giorgia stated, stepping closer to the front door. Raymond had never been to her house before simply because she didn't want her parents knowing about him so soon, but she had known where he lived across town from their one 'date' where he had left something behind that he needed. 

"Yeah, I asked around. I hope you don't mind me showing up out of the blue, but I was hoping you might accompany me to lunch today." He grinned as Mrs. Marino listened in from the kitchen. 

"Yes, of course. I was actually coming to see you, I need to talk to you about something." She smiled, holding her handbag in front of her with both hands. It was no lie that Raymond intrigued her and that both of them felt some sort of way about each other. Raymond knew exactly how he felt about Giorgia, but because of her inexperience with love, she couldn't name exactly what she was feeling about him. 

"Well, looks like this was either a coincidence or dumb luck." He chuckled, taking his hands out from behind his back. 

"It must be." Giorgia grinned, stepping towards the door. "I'll be back for dinner, mama." She called to her mother in the kitchen. as Ray opened the front door. 

"It was wonderful meeting you Mrs. Marino." Ray added as Mrs. Marino came out of the kitchen archway. 

"It was wonderful meeting you two, dear. You two have fun and I'll see you at dinner, Giorgia." Mrs. Marino smiled as the pair left the house, Ray closing the door quietly behind them. 

"Might I add that you look very lovely today." Ray pointed out as they approached his dad's car in which he borrowed for the day. 

"Why thank you." She beamed, doing a little twirl as Ray opened the passenger side door for her. 

"After you, m'lady." He bowed in a foolish manner, a manner in which always brought a smile to Giorgia's face. 

The car ride to their usual lunch spot was a short one since the small diner they usually meet at was only a 30 minute walk from Giorgia's house. They made slight conversation on their way there sine Giorgia hadn't wanted to break the news to him just yet. 

When they arrived at the diner, they took their usual spot in a booth near the window as one of the hostesses greeted them with menus, although both of them already knew what they were going to get. 

"Ray, I hope you know I think it was real sweet of you to pick me up today. Saved me some walking to your house." Giorgia stated, sipping on the coffee the hostess poured for her. On any given day, Giorgia would drink tea or water, but with this meeting ending in one of the hundred possible endings, she needed the extra kick to get her through the next hour or so. 

"Ah, you know I'd do anything for my favorite gal in town." He grinned, sipping his own coffee. The two ate their lunch and drank their coffee, talking about their day so far and what happened to them in between now and their last meeting. It was almost ritual, since they first started meeting for lunch, that they eat and then stay in their booth for about an hour just talking about their lives. Sometimes Ray would share an interesting story or two about his two years in the army. There was only a two year difference between the two with Ray being 20 and Giorgia being 18, a few months out of high school. Truth is, neither of them minded. It only made for more stories for Giorgia to listen adoringly to, admiring the certain courage in Ray that many people only saw in Army boys. 

"Giorgia, I gotta tell you something." He started almost abruptly as Giorgia finished her second cup of coffee. She couldn't say she was nervous nor prepared for what ever Ray had to tell her, all she could think of was how she was going to present her news to him and possibly break his heart. 

"What is it?" She inquired, letting her head rest in the balm of her hand, her elbow leaning on the table. 

"Giorgia, I love hanging out with you and I find you very interesting to be around. Your one of the first girls I've met that hasn't had a problem with my whole Army career. And, if I'm speaking honestly, I want to see where our relationship takes us." His words both shocked and confused her. "I wanted to know if you'd be...my girlfriend." He concluded, getting shy towards the end of his speech. His last few words had Giorgia both shocked and terrified by now. She was supposed to tell him that she was leaving for America in three days time and he just asked her if she wanted to take their relationship to a romantic level. If took every fiber of her being to not lose her cool and run away from the table. He wanted to move forward with her and she had already chosen to move away for an unknown period of time. 

"Oh shit." She mumbled almost incoherently before picking up her coffee mug and trying to taste the last couple drops of coffee, as if those last two drops were going to give her the emotional boost she needed to make it through this. "Ray, I adore you, I really do. But there's something really important that I have to tell you and I don't know how you're going to handle this, but..." she paused, seeing a slight fear in his eyes for only a second before in haling sharply. "I'm leaving soon, to go back to America." She spat out, just to say she had said it. A silence fell between the two as Giorgia feared to make eye contact. 

"You're what?" He questioned sadly. Giorgia regretted even telling him because she knew it would break his heart. 

"I'm going back to America for an undisclosed amount of time." She repeated, clasping her hands together on the table in front of her and squeezing as if it was an anxious coping mechanism. "I agreed to join a military group stationed mainly in America and I ship off for training in three days." She explained before looking up only to see tears start to well up in the corners of his eyes, which sent a sense of panic through her spine as she rushed to correct herself. "This had nothing to do with you, please know that. I am not doing this to escape from you or my family, I am only doing this because, I need to do this for myself." She rambled on hoping it would fix some broken heart strings. 

"W-when did you make this decision?" Ray asked after going so long in silence. 

"There was an info meeting on October 1st. Myself and one other girl both decided to stay because we both felt that we needed to do this for ourselves." Giorgia tried to explain in as much detail as she could without breaking the rules of secrecy she unofficially agreed to. "Raymond, I never told you this before, but the one thing that itches at me is a sense of adventure and, and, and freedom. I can't answer that call sitting at home and learning to be a good house wife like my mother wants me to. I believe that I could do great things, make a name for myself or do something more than just become a baby factory in the near future." She recited the words straight from her heart, something she had to do to convince her father to let her go. "And besides that, I believe we an take our relationship farther than just having lunch at a diner, but now isn't the greatest time for me. Or maybe it's not the greatest time for the both of us." 

"What do you mean?" 

"What I mean is, you have your military career. You have an open opportunity to do great things for yourself and I adore you for your charisma and your aspirations for your future. Hearing all your stories not only makes me adore you even more, but it inspired me. Your courage inspired me to make the decision I made." After a few moments of silence, Giorgia figured she had broken the poor boy in front of her. 

"So, what you're saying is, after being rejected from the nurses and being inspired by me, you decided to join a military group that is mainly stationed in America, and you leave in three days time?" Ray questioned, making sure what he was hearing was true and his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. 

"Yes." Was all Giorgia could managed to say, for fear that she may let her emotions through and start tearing up herself. 

"And you also believe that we could be something more, but after you come back?" He inquired. 

"Yes." Giorgia watched as he thought for a moment, taking in everything that was just pushed onto him out of no where. She was scared that after his mind had registered all this information, that he would burst into an angry fit, but that was not the case. 

"So when you leave in three days, you promise to be safe?" Giorgia couldn't help but grin at his remark, knowing he wasn't too angry about this. 

"Yes, I promise to be as safe as I can." She assured to him. 

"Good," Ray smiled. The news breaking didn't go as badly as Giorgia thought it would go, and she was thankful for that. The rest of the afternoon they spent driving around Melbourne, finding different things to do just to spend time with each other. 

The next day, Giorgia had invited Ray over to meet the rest of her family. To say they all got along well is an understatement. In fact, he was invited to spend the next couple days at their house, sleeping in the small guest room on the main floor of the house that was made primarily out of a closet, one would think seeing as how the room was so small. 

When November 1st rolled around, the house and all it's inhabitants were quiet. They were all awake at the crack of dawn, preparing to say good bye to Giorgia. Mrs. Marino, Irene and Carla were all in tears; Bruno was close to it. Raymond and Mr. Marino didn't dare show it. 

Giorgia had a medium sized Army bag Ray had given her a couple days prior and was packing it with what ever she may need, including the formal uniform, training and combat uniform and training jumpsuit. The formal uniform she was given was a combination of light grey trousers paired with a black suit jacket and a navy blue button up shirt for underneath. The training/combat uniform and training jumpsuit were all a shade of Army green that mainly Americans wore. She was surprised that they hadn't sent her any skirts like she had seen many women wear while they served in the Army as cooks or radio dispatchers. 

She added as many undergarments as she could before stuffing her toiletries in as well. She didn't bother packing any cosmetics considering this was a military boot camp and that stuff was probably prohibited. She did, however, pack one of her dresses just in case there was a rare occasion for them to leave base. Aside from clothes and necessities, she also packed a journal with a couple stray pencils as well as a journal strictly for writing letters back home should she find any spare time to do so. 

When everything was packed, she changed from her nightgown into her dark grey trousers and shoes which was grouped with her black, long sleeved button up shirt and suspenders. She threw on her jacket over top and was ready to go. She hadn't bothered with cosmetics, only making sure her hair was in the neatest bun she could put together, aside from the small string of hair that fell down the side of her face in a wavy style. A look in the mirror had carved an image of herself into her brain. She could only imagine what she would look like coming out of this. A knock on the door had scared her out of her trance as Ray opened the door to her bedroom only a little bit. 

"Giorgia, you ready to go?" He asked, not opening the door any further. 

"Yeah." She muttered. "As ready as I'll ever be." She added as the door was opened more and Raymond stood in the doorway. 

"Training camp may be difficult, but it's much better when you make friends there. I'm sure you'll be fine." He told her, giving a reassuring smile as if he thought she was regretting her decision. 

"I'm not worried about that." She silenced his reassurance. "I'm worried about being gone for so long. I'm worried I won't make it back in time for Bruno's graduation, or the girls' first day of High School." She pouted, feeling very empathetic of herself. 

"Hey, don't worry about that now." Raymond began, walking over to her spot in front of the mirror. "I'm sure they'll understand if you don't make it home in time. Besides, there is much more time for making memories when you get back." He concluded, fixing the collar on her shirt and jacket. "Now, come on. The cars running and you don't want to be late for your boat." He said as if the event of her leaving didn't hurt him as much as it did. 

The two left her bedroom together. Her room was neat and tidy so when she came back it would be clean for her return. As they went back downstairs, Giorgia's bag in hand, her family was silent. Her siblings rode in their family car with their parents and Giorgia rode with Ray in his fathers car once more. The two took a scenic route to get to the boat docks, allowing Giorgia time to take in the beautiful November scenery before the cars were parked a couple blocks from the boat docks. 

A passenger ship was set to take Giorgia, Frances and any other vacationing Australians over to America. On their walk to the docks, Giorgia spotted a lonely Frances walking towards the docks in tears; her ticket and bag in hand. 

"I'll be right back, okay." Giorgia told her family before crossing the street, leaving her bag with Ray, to see her new friend. "Frances, wait up." She called out to the saddened girl who had an impeccable walking speed. Frances stopped to turn around and her saddened expression suddenly turned to relief as she spotted Giorgia. 

"Giorgia, I'm so glad to see you." She cried, dropping her bags and lunging into a hug which Giorgia openly accepted. 

"What's wrong, Frances? I thought you were excited to leave town." Giorgia questioned as her upset friend cried onto her shoulder. 

"My parents, they kicked me out for choosing to leave and avoid their marriage arrangement. I moved in with my grandfather, but my parents threatened to disown him from the family if he drove me to the docks so I had to walk and I didn't want to leave my family in such a mess, but they just don't understand!" She cried some more as Giorgia gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

"It'll be alright, Frances. I know your grandfather is proud of you for doing this and when you get back, if your family hasn't warmed up any more you'll still have him." She cooed as Frances began to calm down. 

"You're right. I'm making a fool of myself." Frances muttered, pulling away from Giorgia and wiping her face on her sleeves. 

"You're not making a fool of yourself. It's alright to be upset about something like this. Why don't you join me and my family until we board the boat." Giorgia suggested, helping Frances wipe the tears from under her eyes. 

"Yeah, sure. I'd like that." Frances smiled, sniffling a bit before trying the fan her eyes dry with her hands. 

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everybody." Giorgia smiled, picking up Frances' bag and guiding her across the street to where her family stood in silence. 

"Everyone, this is Frances. She's going to be joining me in America for training." Giorgia introduced her family. "Frances, this is my mother, Sarah Marino, and my father, Marco Marino." She began introducing as Frances shook hands with her parents. "These are my younger siblings, Bruno, Irene and Carla. And this is Raymond." She introduced. 

"It's nice to meet you all." Frances smiled, trying to forget about her own family troubles. 

"It's lovely to meet you two, dear." Mrs. Marino smiled before pulling both Frances and Giorgia into a hug. "You two are so brave for doing this. I wish you both the best." She whispered into their ears before parting. Mr. Marino stepped to the side of his wife, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

"My love, why don't you take the kids to find a spot on the pier so we can wave the ship off and Raymond and myself will help the girls to their spots." he said softly to her before earning a series of nods from Mrs. Marino and the kids. 

"Yes, of course." She mumbled, giving one last farewell hug to both Giorgia and Frances. Giorgia gave her hugs to her siblings before joining her father and Raymond in walking to the entrance to the docks. Raymond had remained carrying her bag and Mr. Marino offered to carry Frances' bag as they walked quietly to the gate where they were met by another man in uniform, to which they handed their identification papers and boat tickets to. 

"You two just go off to the left there by the ramp and you'll be the first to board. Show these to another officer and he'll show you to your quarters. Have a safe trip." He told them, handing back their papers. 

The group walked off to the side just before the entrance and said their final goodbyes. Giorgia had turned to Raymond first, embracing him in a well-needed hug. 

"You be safe over there. I'll be awaiting your letters eagerly in the mean time." He whispered to her before they parted. 

"I'll write to you as soon as I can." She told him before turning to her father and embracing in another well-needed hug. 

"I love you, my child. Be safe, for me and your mother." He mumbled to her, almost in a state of tears. 

"I will, papa. And I'll write to you as soon as I can." She told him before parting with him as well. Giorgia turned to Frances who was waiting patiently with their bags. "You ready to go?" She asked her friend, who had now calmed down a lot more than earlier. 

"Only if you are." Frances smiled. Giorgia gave her last two hugs to Raymond and her father before picking up her own bag and walking arm-in-arm with Frances up to the ramp. When an announcement was given that boarding will begin, they were the first two up the ramp, as promised. Upon reaching the top of the ramp, another officer greeted them as they handed over their papers. 

"Please follow me, ladies." He said before leading them into the ship. They were lead to the rooms above deck where a section of hallways was taped off from other tourists. They were shown one room that had two separate sides. "This is your room. No one else is in this area for security purposes only. You are welcome to walk among the deck once we start the voyage and you can choose whether you would like to join the rest of the passengers in the dining hall or have food delivered to your room. I"ll leave you two to get settled. If you need anything, my name is Corporal James Fredericton." The officer informed them before leaving. Giorgia shut the door the their room once they were both inside as Frances set her bag on her bed. The beds had curtains around them for privacy, but both girls had unspokenly agreed to leave them open. 

"I'm going to go out to the deck, see if I can spot my parents. Want to come with?" Giorgia offered as she reached the door to their room. 

"Sure. Maybe some fresh air will calm my nerves a bit." Frances agreed before the two left the room. There was a key on the desk between the beds to their door so Giorgia stuffed it in her pocket for safe keeping, also so she could lock their door after leaving. 

The deck wasn't so crowded as a small crowd of people joined the girls on the boat. They found their way to a deck higher up where no one else would be when the boat took off. Giorgia watched as the crowd on the ramp slowly turned into nothing and the ramp was pulled into the boat and the gate was secured. Navy men worked tirelessly to unhook the boat from the docks as the Captain and his crew took their spots in the cabin above the two girls. A horn sounded at the back end of the ship as the anchors were pulled up from the seabed. 

"Look, I found your family!" Frances pointed out excitingly. Giorgia gazed to where she was pointing and found her family leaning against the rail of the pier, waving up at the girls. It wasn't hard to see that her mother was in tears as she held a handkerchief in one hand and waved with the other. The two waved back as the boat moved away from the docks, heading out to sea. The girls stayed on the dock long after the shore of Melbourne was no longer in sight. 

"What do you think awaits us in America?" Frances asked as they watched the rolling waves below them and the birds soaring high above the boat. It was a beautiful morning, no doubt. 

"From what Raymond told me, probably a lot of running." Giorgia joked, hoping to lighten the mood between them. 

"Oh, no." 

-


	7. International Chaos

**-  
Pacific Ocean  
November, 1939  
-**

Being at sea was a frightening combination of peaceful and nerve-wracking. Frances felt better being above deck, but after a while of watching the waves around the boat, she felt rather sea sick, and the two retired to their room for the rest of the day. There wasn't much to do in their room. Frances was mainly exhausted from her disastrous morning with her family so a quick nap until dinner seemed fitting for her. Meanwhile, Giorgia started to write in her journal, taking down the events of this morning up until coming back to their room. 

By 5 p.m. the dinner bell was rung for the other guests on board, but an officer came to the door and informed them that dinner will be served shortly in the dining hall, which gave the two a head start and they were close to the front of the line for the small buffet. They sat at a table alone for the first bit before a family of four asked to join them. Being polite, the two agreed and shortly made conversation with the parents. The family was a group of immigrants, the father had been promoted in his business and was required to move to the companies branch in America. The children were young enough not to understand why they were moving away which meant they weren't as upset about leaving their school friends. 

After dinner, the two parted from the family and went to explore the boat. They passed many passengers on the main deck. They found a common room filled with table top games and tables for playing cards, but nothing seemed satisfying enough to pass the time with so they just went back to their room once more for the day. 

A week passed and the two were bored out of their minds. They had been to the common room and walked the entirety of the boat at least 20 times. They had stopped in Honolulu to refuel, but no one was allowed off the boat since it wasn't part of the trip so everyone had admired the island from the boat deck. Giorgia and Frances remained on the top deck without crossing the boundaries set for the Captain and his crew. 

When the boat departed from Honolulu, sailing went back to normal. The Captain's First and Second Mate had gone around and informed as many passengers as they could that the estimated travel time to the mainland of America would be another week to two weeks, three at most. This worried the girls because they hadn't seen Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smith anywhere on this boat like he said he would. 

About a week after the departure from Honolulu, Giorgia had tracked down the First Mate of the boat and asked if he knew anybody by the name Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smith. Negative. He even asked the Captain if he knew anybody by the name and no one could point out if this man even existed. 

-

When the boat finally docked in San Diego, California, the girls were the first to get off. They were met at the bottom of the ramp by another officer who then gave them plane tickets for an afternoon flight out of the San Diego airport. Neither Giorgia nor Frances had ever been on a plane, merely because commercial flights didn't become a thing until 1926 and was rarely used in Australia. 

The two were escorted to a taxi cab which then took them to the airport. Within a couple hours, they were checked in and boarding the small passenger plane. There had only been about 10 seats for passengers and two seats for the air-hostesses that were separate from the cabin with the Pilot and Co-pilot. While Frances had been nervous about the boat the most, Giorgia was nervous about the plane the most. 

The flight from San Diego to Santa Fe, New Mexico was exhausting for the two. Frances was constantly reassuring Giorgia that they weren't going to fall out of the sky and Giorgia spent the entire flight clinging to her seats arm rests for dear life. Once on the ground, Giorgia had knelt down next to a bush while she collected her thoughts and tried not the puke. Meanwhile, Frances stood by with both of their bags and bus tickets. 

"Next time we have to fly anywhere, just drug me up and knock me out first." Giorgia groaned, standing up from her spot on the ground. 

"It wasn't that bad, Ace. It was almost similar to the boat ride." Frances told her, handing Giorgia her bag as the two walked into the airport, checked in with yet another military officer who led them to a bus line which had many different women waiting to board the buses. 

"Are they all here for camp?" Frances asked curiously. The two took in the features of all the women waiting in line. They ranged from tall and short, pale to dark skinned, with all different shades of brown, blonde, black and red hair. Some donned the training/combat uniforms they were given, but many wore street clothes. Giorgia and Frances stood a few meters behind the rest of the women, almost as if they were scared to introduce themselves until one of the women noticed them. She was a dark skinned woman, with curly black hair that was pinned down in some places. She had the prettiest smile the two had seen in a while. She was the first to notice the two new additions to the lines. 

"Are you girls here for training?" She asked as she approached them, her bag and bus pass in hand. 

"Yes, ma'am." Giorgia smiled back. "I'm Giorgia Marino. This here is Frances Porter." she introduced, shaking the woman's hand. 

"It's so nice to meet you two. I'm Martha, Martha Wayne. Where are you two from?" Martha asked. 

"Australia. Melbourne to be exact." Frances answered. "What about you?" 

"I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada. The great white North." Martha answered. 

"Canada, wow." Giorgia muttered in amazement. "I've always wanted to see the mountains there." She stated with a grin. 

"Oh, you'll love 'em. Where I'm from it's nothing but prairie and farms, but I've traveled with my father a few times over to Alberta and the mountains are beautiful, even from a distance." Martha explained before a whistle was blown to get everyone's attention. 

"Anybody willing to travel further to Camp Aster please show your bus passes to the officer at the door and proceed to board the buses in an orderly fashion!" The officer shouted so all the women could hear. There had to be at least 100 of them all waiting to board the buses. Martha turned back to her two new acquaintances with a wide grin. 

"Well, this is it ladies. I don't know about you, but I'm excited." She stated, lifting her bag off the ground. "You guys wanna try and get our seats together? It'll be fun to have some new people to talk to." She asked, earning nods and smiles from both of them. 

"Yeah sure." The trio joined a line and eventually got to show their bus passes to the officer who let them on the bus. They were the last three on their bus so their seats were at the front along with another girl, who seemed to be around Giorgia and Frances' age. She had short blonde hair that was pinned back behind her ears so it didn't fall into her line of view while she was reading. Martha sat next to her, but Giorgia was the first to make conversation. 

"Hey, what's your name?" She asked the girl. She seemed more of the shy type which confused them a little bit. 

"Annie. Annie Benjamin." She replied with a shy smile. 

"I'm Giorgia Marino. This here is Frances Porter and Martha Wayne." She introduced as the doors to the bus closed. 

"You have a cool accent, where're you from?" Annie asked curiously. 

"Frances and I are from Australia. Martha here is from Canada." Giorgia answered. 

"Oh cool. I'm from New York. Nothing special." Annie added. 

"What's it like in the big city? I've always been curious to see big cities." Martha asked, continuing the conversation with Annie. Giorgia turned back to Frances who was staring out the window of the bus as it pulled away from the airport. 

"Hey," she whispered, giving a gentle nudge with her arm. "You alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Frances muttered, giving a small smile. "It's just....the closer we get to this camp, the more I feel like we aren't going to make it. And they'll send us home." She said in sorrow. Giorgia wrapped an arm over Frances' shoulders, pulling her into a half embrace. 

"We'll be fine. All we gotta do is follow orders and do our assigned jobs. There's not going back for us. All you gotta do is believe in yourself." Giorgia whispered to her friend. 

"I know. I'm just scared." Frances admitted, tears starting to fill her eyes. 

"It's ok to be scared. I'm sure a lot of the men were scared to go to training. It's completely normal to be afraid. This is a big step for us, and for all these women. We're about to partake in something that normally only men do. Just think, we could be changing history." Giorgia told her, trying everything and anything to calm her fried down. Frances nodded, using her sleeve to wipe her eyes dry. 

"You're right. You're right." Frances repeated. "I chose to do this. I decided,_ this is what's good for me_. I want to do this." She said, mainly to herself. Many of the women on the bus had distracted themselves by talking with the other women around them, meeting new people and making new friends. Frances only had Giorgia, and maybe Martha. 

The bus had taken them from Santa Fe to the center of a triangle between Santa Fe, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Taos. The camp gate was secured and there were walls surrounding the camp to protect it from outsiders looking to exploit the government or steal. The bus had brought them through the gate and stopped right next to the front office. Giorgia, Frances, Martha and Annie were the first off the bus, with their bags in hand and nervous expressions plastered to their faces. When they stepped off the bus, they were meet by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smith. He said nothing to Giorgia or Frances. 

"Welcome to Camp Aster, ladies. Those of you that came off the first bus, please move yourselves to the first housing barrack to my left. Get yourselves situated inside and if you were given training ODs, please change into those." He told them in a demanding sort of way. Giorgia looked back at the group of ladies that had been on her bus. There were four buses that transported 100 women from the Sante Fe airport to Camp Aster, dividing the women into groups of 25. 

"Come on. Let's get sorted." Giorgia said to Frances, but loud enough that the rest of the women would get the queue. She was the first to start walking to the barrack as the bus pulled farther into the camp to turn around and exit the camp. Giorgia opened the door to their barrack and was the first to step inside, also being the first to see the tight living spaces. 

"Are they sure 25 women are going to fit in here?" Frances asked, peeking under Giorgia's arm. 

"Who knows." Giorgia mumbled in response before walking straight to the back of the barrack, choosing the bed at the very end of the long, wood-framed shelter. The barracks were all equally as long. The inside walls were lined with 12 beds on each side with a foot locker that was half the length of the bed stuffed underneath the steel bed frame. Each barrack housed 25 troops which meant for 1 extra bed at the very end of the the barrack, completing a loop. Giorgia had taken that bed and Frances took the bed to the right of Giorgia; Martha took the bed to the left of her and Annie took the bed beside Martha. 

Following the Lieutenant Colonel's orders, Giorgia placed her bag on the bed and rummaged through it until she found her training/combat uniform. Frances followed suit and when they were done changing out in the open, they were the only two who somewhat resembled Army Officers of any kind. 

"Where'd you guys get those fancy things?" Martha asked, eyeing up the uniform-clad Australians. 

"We were given them at the end of the info meeting back in October." Frances answered, tying her wavy red hair into a bun like Giorgia's. 

While waiting for their next set of commands, the women in the first barrack arranged their things in their foot lockers the way they liked. Giorgia had placed her street clothes at the bottom, folded neatly, to act as a barrier between the bottom of the wooden box and her new military fatigues. She placed her formal uniform on top of her dress and jacket and placed her journals and pencils on top of her trousers and button up shirt. Her toiletries were all compiled into a smaller bag which sat neatly in the side of her foot locker and her undergarments were folded neatly underneath her fatigues. 

"Ladies! Assembly Area, two minutes!" A voice sounded from the other side of the barrack door, frightening a few of the girls momentarily. Giorgia made sure her hair was up tight so it wouldn't be caught and regarded as 'messy' before being the first one out the door. She saw the women from the other groups lined up in rows defining their group of 25. Giorgia began her own line up. She stood in the middle of Frances and Martha as the other women from their barrack lined up behind those three, forming their unit. Lt. Colonel Smith stood before them all, assessing the groups formed. 

"It's nice to see a group with some organizational skills." He commented, mainly on their assembly. "From now on, you will refer to me as _Lieutenant Colonel_ or _Colonel Smith_ or _Sir_. From now on, you will be referred to as _Private_, followed by your last name. Now I don't expect the lot of you to know any military language just yet so I'll give you an example." He continued before walking towards Giorgia and stopping directly in front of her. "What's your name?" 

"Private Giorgia Marino, Sir." She answered with as much confidence as she could muster. 

"I'm sorry, I couldn't here you, Private. I said, what's your name!" He repeated, raising his voice like any commanding officer would do to his soldier. It startled Giorgia for a second, but she managed to keep her cool. 

"Private Giorgia Marino, Sir!" She repeated, raising her voice but with a neutral tone. 

"That's what I like to hear!" He exclaimed, walking away from Giorgia. "Whenever an officer asks you your name, you must answer with confidence! This one got it right by finalizing her answer with _Sir_. Something that is expected of each and every one of you, just like it would be expected from any man who served his country." Colonel Smith continued rambling. By now, the women had some sort of idea of how to address an officer and it was mainly from watching Giorgia. They all fixed their posture with a straight spine and hands behind their back. 

"Now, as far as training goes, we are still awaiting another group of women to arrive. The next group is from parts in Europe. Most of you should be from North America with the two excepts that I know of. Until that group gets here tomorrow morning, you all have time to settle into camp, learn your way around it, check things out. Make sure to meet the other women from other barracks. Should you pass training, you will be working with one another and good teamwork always wins. For those of you who have not received any ODs, please come to the head office." He finished before taking one last look at the squads before him. "Dismissed." He said before walking away to the front office, which is not the head office. 

The women hesitated before leaving their spots of attention. Frances turned to Giorgia, a shocked expression on her face. 

"You handled that surprisingly well." She stated as Giorgia exhaled sharply. 

"I almost pissed myself." She replied as almost all of the ladies from all four barracks went for the head office. The two spotted a couple women who already had their uniforms and decided to introduce themselves. 

"I see we're not the only ones with uniforms already." Giorgia smiled as they approached the group of three different women. "I'm Giorgia Marino, it's a pleasure to meet you ladies." She introduced herself, shaking their hands as she received small smiles from them as well. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm Betty Harper, I'm from New York." The first girl said. She kind of resembled Frances in a way, except her red hair was a duller color and she had almost twice as many freckles under her eyes and over her nose. 

"I'm Twila Hopkins, also from New York." the second girl introduce. She was a dark skinned girl, much like Martha, but a few shades lighter. 

"And I'm Violet Markson, also from New York." The third girl introduced. She was shorter than her other two New York friends with short blonde hair that came down to her ears. "What's your name?" She asked, looking at Frances. 

"Frances Porter, I'm from Melbourne, Australia. We both are." Frances grinned. 

"Oh neat! What's it like over there?" Violet inquired. Giorgia could sense a more genuine curiosity in her voice than most. 

"Humid." Giorgia stated jokingly, earning laughs and giggles from the four women around her. 

"I've heard y'all have spiders the size of dinner plates down there. Ugh! I couldn't do it." Twila shuddered, to which Giorgia and Frances laughed a bit. 

"You only find those if you live in the wild northern part of Australia. We don't have those in Melbourne." Frances explained. The three sighed in relief as more and more women came out of the offices in new uniforms, holding their old clothes and other uniforms in their arms and returning to their barrack. 

"Say, what building are you two in? We're in the third one." Betty asked. 

"We're in the first one over there. We were with the first bus in." Giorgia answered, pointing over to their barrack.

"I don't know about you ladies, but I need to find out when dinner is because I. Am. Starving." Twila stated. "Who's coming with me?" 

"Oh, me!" Violet chimed in. 

"I'm going to explore the camp a bit. You ladies want to join me?" Betty asked, motioning to Giorgia and Frances. 

"I'll pass, thank you. I think I'm gonna go rest for a bit. Traveling killed me the last few days." Frances answered. 

"Me too. I have to ask the Colonel something." Giorgia answered for herself. The five said their temporary farewells and split ways. Giorgia made sure Frances got back to the barrack alright before going towards the front office. 

There was a distinct difference between the head office and the front office. The front office dealt with visitor sign in and making sure that the mess hall and medical barrack were stocked with food and supplies. The head office is where training plans and all the important officers stayed. The head office doubled as officer quarters in the back of the building. Colonel Smith had gone to the front office first and that's exactly where she found him. 

"Private, uniform station is in the head office, remember?" He partly scolded not looking up from the document in his hand. 

"I'm not here about my uniform, sir. I was wondering if you could answer some questions of mine." She stated, waiting for him to look up at her. And he did. 

"Ah, Private Marino. I'm sure you have lots of questions. Follow me." He said blankly before stacking the documents into files and placing the files in a box before leading Giorgia out of the front office and into the second floor of the head office where his private office was. 

"So what kind of questions do you have?" He inquired, setting the box on the floor by his desk and lifting all the files onto his desktop. There was at least a hundred of them and upon noticing one of the files said_ 'Martha Wayne'_ on the tab sticking out of the back, she assumed they were profiles of all the women in the camp. 

"You said this group was an international group, I was wondering how far around the world you lot have gotten to." She started, earning his attention even more. 

"Sit down." He ordered, pointing at the chair with a pencil before standing up and approaching a vertical file folder. Giorgia sat down in front of his desk as he searched for a file. The one he pulled out was at least an inch thick. He turned to face her with a curious eye. "Can I trust you to show you this?" He questioned. 

"Trust me if you want, or don't. I just want to know what kind of group I joined before training starts." She answered just as blankly as he did to her in the front office. Colonel Smith thought for a second before bring the new file to his desk and dropping it in front of Giorgia. 

"In that file is everything that isn't completely classified about this organization." He began. Giorgia picked up the file and noticed it had a stamp on the front that read _'Property of IMCU'_. Inside were the beginning files starting with the final completion stages signed by the League of Nations. "That file has documents as old as you in there. We were signed together by the League of Nations. They put us together and funded us enough to start recruitment. We started with the men, working our way through the States, Europe, Canada and Mexico even. We've got thousands of men stationed all over the world. We've had to divert our efforts more towards Europe now that Hitler is leading Germany into some deep shit over there." He continued as Giorgia read through some of the files. 

"You're running out of troops so you turned to the women as to not take away from national Army Corps." She stated as she reached the plans for trying to halt Germany before things got out of hand. 

"Not necessarily, but you've got the idea." He admitted. "I wasn't lying when I said that bringing women into the military was my idea, and that I got the idea from my daughter, my she rest in peace." He whispered the last bit. 

"But you couldn't find enough volunteers in America so sailing to Australia and Europe were your last chances to find new recruits." She said again, reading more into the file. 

"Our next bus load of women are from Europe; England, France, Italy and Germany, Switzerland and Holland too. Mainly women who already know how to speak English fluently." He explained. "You and Frances were the only recruits that decided to come from Australia. And I'm hoping you two make it." He told her, giving her a slight surprise. 

"Why does all your recruitment seem rushed? I mean, you picked through until you found fluent English speakers, but took anybody. You didn't bother looking for military family background, work experience, nothing. You gave boat tickets to house wives to come fight for the world." She rambled, looking at the documents that stated the recruitment process.

"We have reason to believe that the Pacific may become a theater of war. We want to prepare to have one group of soldiers sent to Europe and another handling the Pacific. We couldn't do that when we already sent 90% of our troops to Europe." Colonel Smith announced to her, and his intentions were to her only. "And now that I've told you this, you can't tell anybody, understood?" 

"What does that mean for Australia?" She asked, avoiding his question. 

"Australia is still part of the British Commonwealth so many of your troops will be sent to Europe to fight under British command." Giorgia finished reading the file, including the parts about training and their schedule. When she was done, she gently closed the file and placed it back on the desk, giving a couple nods of acceptance. 

"No one else will hear about this, I promise." She ensured. 

"Good. Do you have any other questions?" 

-


	8. Let The Chaos Begin!

**-**   
**December 1st, 1939**   
**Camp Aster, New Mexico**   
**-**

When the final bus drove into camp, the women that were already there were getting ready to eat breakfast in the mess hall. They watched as all 25 of the European ladies stepped off the bus in uniform, their bags slung over their shoulders like this was nothing new to them. Colonel Smith had greeted them, told them where their barrack was and that breakfast was being served in about five minutes. This left the camp with 125 women that were going to begin training today. 

The mess hall was like four out of the five barracks buildings put together with a small area in the back for the kitchen and its staff. The walls were lined with 13 tables and each table had a bench on either side that could fit 10 women at one table for 12 tables, the last table had extra elbow room and was intended for officers of higher rank like Colonel Smith, but he was always up before them so he got first picking before they got there. 

Giorgia and Frances had sat at a table with Martha and Annie, with their trays in hand and a smile to start the day. Breakfast wasn't too bad: some low-grade scrambled eggs, toast and a cup of watery coffee or tea. They were soon joined by the New Yorkers: Betty, Twila and Violet. 

"I thought the army only fed you slop three times a day." Betty said, sitting down in the middle of the bench, opposite of Giorgia. "This ain't half bad." She smirked. 

"Plus you get to choose between coffee or tea." Frances stated with a surprised grin, sipping from her cup of tea. 

"Just wait, this is gonna be some first day surprise and the rest of our time here is gonna be slop." Martha joked before three new ladies approached their table. 

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" The first one said. They were all fair skinned girls with a shade scale of blonde hair going from light to dark blonde. Giorgia noticed them as part of the bus that arrived this morning. 

"Not at all, take a seat." Twila greeted with a smile. They sat down at the end of the bench, making sure not to bump any arms is if the rest of them were going to bite their hands off if they did. 

"I'm Annie Benjamin. It's nice to meet you three." Annie introduced herself. 

"I'm Alice Müller. These are my younger sisters, Emma and Amelia." The first girl introduced. Alice was the oldest Müller sibling at 23 years old, following by Emma at 21 and then Amelia at 18. Giorgia knew right off the bat that they were German just by listening to their last name. 

"I'm Frances Porter," Frances introduced before pointing to Giorgia. "This is Giorgia Marino and Martha Wayne." She finished. 

"Betty Harper." 

"Twila Hopkins." 

"Violet Markson." The rest said their names in introductory. Their places of origin were never brought up as the table continued talking about a variety of different things like why they decided to come here or what their families were like. Giorgia observed quietly, smiling and nodding. 

Just as the table finished eating, Colonel Smith barged through the door of the mess hall, and everyone immediately stood from their benches in attention, something they all learned from the military pocketbook some of them found in the head office. 

"I hope you ladies had a good breakfast because today is your first day of training. Let the chaos begin! Everybody outside by the flagpole, 2 minutes!" He ordered before all the women were rushing to leave their spots at the benches and leave the mess hall in an orderly fashion. None of them needed to be told to run to the flagpole assembly area and yet they did it anyway. Giorgia was at the front of her pack with Frances, Martha and Annie behind her, Betty, Violet and Twila behind them and the German sisters behind them. When all 125 women reached the assembly area, they scrambled to get into their groups of 25 that was based off of their barrack building and bus group. Once again, Giorgia was in the middle front row, with Frances on her right side, Martha and Annie on her left with another girl beside Frances. They all stood in attention, waiting for Colonel Smith to arrive.

When he did arrive, he arrived, shouldering a rifle, with five other officers who were carrying crates on little dolleys. They stopped in front of each group of women and waited. 

"Today, you will receive all the gear you need. For now, it's rifles. The rifle you receive will be your most important tool. You will clean it, you will learn it inside and out, you will care for it, it will be your child. First lesson, how to hold your rifle in a position of attention." He announced, giving a signal to the officers who then opened the crates and passed the rifles to the first row, who passed them to the row behind them until every woman had one; many had figured out how to shoulder their rifle by watching Colonel Smith. Giorgia was one of the first in her group to figure it out. 

"I'm impressed. Many of you have it figured out already." He said before taking his rifle off his shoulder and holding it in front of him, the barrel pointing at the sky on an angle to his left, his right pointer finger hovering near the trigger and his left hand holding the rifle steady. When everyone noticed he wasn't going to say anything, the women all followed suit. Nodding, examined the stance of the girls and their guns. "Alright. You all seem to know what you're doing. This here is how I expect you all to hold your rifles during an inspection. Any other time you stand in attention, shoulder 'em. Once we get the bayonets on here I don't want any accidents." 

-

Weapons and stance training went on for almost 30 minutes. Colonel Smith had lectured them about proper stance with weapons when greeting an officer and even more military language. After that began their first physical training exercise of their stay at Camp Aster. Colonel Smith led them to the treeline where they could see that the stone wall went into the forest. There was a barely beaten down path leading deep into the trees. 

"The average group can be lead to the end of this trail in 15 minutes if they keep running. In total, 30 minutes for each group." Colonel Smith explained as another man in uniform approached the group with a stop watch in hand. "Sergeant Lance here will be timing each group as they attempt to run through this trail for their first time, with no direction. The trail is marked with various objects either on the ground or in a tree. If your group does not complete this trail within 40 minutes or you emerge with one less person, your weekend passes will be revoked for this coming weekend. It's one group at a time, the other groups will be joining me at the obstacle course. When your group emerges, you will be sent to me to send the next group." Colonel Smith explained. The women were already formed in their groups of 25 awaiting orders before Smith went around assigning squad numbers and leaders based off which barrack the group was in. 

"First group, you are First Platoon. Your leader is Private Marino. Second group, you are Second Platoon. Your leader is Private Parr. Third group, you are Third Platoon. Your leader is Private Harper. Fourth group, you are Fourth Platoon. Your leader is Private Hutchinson. Fifth group, you are Fifth Platoon. Your leader is Private Alice Müller." When he was done announcing group numbers and leaders, he turned and whispered to Sergeant Lance before turning back to the women.

"These Platoon 'leaders' are set until someone in your platoon is deemed accepting of a higher rank and therefore will be given the title of Platoon leader. As for the trail, First Platoon, you're up. Everyone else, come with me to the obstacle course." Giorgia, Frances and Martha watched with their platoon as the other four groups ran to the obstacle course before turning to Sergeant Lance, who had pulled a small notebook and pencil out of his pocket.

"Looks like we answer to you, Ace." Frances whispered to Giorgia as they waited for the signal to go. Sergeant Lance looked up at the women before clicking the button on the stop watch, starting the clock. Giorgia panicked for a split second before tapping Frances and Martha on the shoulders and starting her running pace. 

"Let's go First Platoon!" She called and the rest of the women followed her into the trees. Giorgia tried to follow the beaten path at first, but the farther into the trees they got the less of a path they had. Giorgia's eyes were everywhere: looking for markers on the ground, in the trees, above them, below them. She passed a thin wooden stake in the ground with a tiny arrow painted on the top pointing to their left. She looked back at the platoon as they rounded a corner around the tree. 

"Come on, First Platoon! Keep running its a short trail!" She cheered instinctively to her team. They ran single file through the trees; jumping over the fallen down logs and ducking under the bending trees. If someone started to slow down, the girls behind them gave words of encouragement and they all caught up to the line. Giorgia lead with a steady pace and before they knew it, they reached the end of the trail at the stone wall. 

"Half way done, let's go! We got this." Giorgia cheered as they didn't stop running, and took off down the other part of the trail that was marked by yet another stake in the ground with an arrow on the top. Half way through the second half of the trail, the two trails merged into one and Giorgia was able to lead the way without missing the trail. 

Giorgia was the first to emerge from the forest, peeling off at the edge of the treeline to count the girls as they followed in a line. When she counted 24, she turned to Sergeant Lance, out of breath and ready to fall. Sergeant Lance didn't say anything, only took notes in the notebook before flipping the page and looking up at Giorgia. 

"Second Platoon." He stated before motioning for the obstacle course. Giorgia nodded and began ushering her girls towards the course, urging them to run a bit more and following behind so no one got left or dropped behind. 

"First Platoon, back so soon." Colonel Smith greeted as Second Platoon finished their round on the course. 

"Second Platoon is next, sir." Giorgia stated trying to catch her breath. 

"Very good, then. Second Platoon! You're up next!" Colonel Smith shouted as Second Platoon stood up from the end of the course. "First Platoon, take your places behind Fifth Platoon." Giorgia followed her group to the back of the line as Third Platoon lined up to do the obstacle course. They watched as Third Platoon began their run. The obstacle course was a run of lines. First group from Third Platoon went over the first obstacle- a grid of ropes that you had to step in and out of to cross without tripping- before moving onto the next obstacle. Once the first line from Third Platoon was done the second obstacle, the next line would go, and so on until Third Platoon completed the course. 

The obstacle course was a straight line starting with the rope grid, moving through the line of six logs all held up at different heights, the rope wall, the barrel crawls, the 10 foot wall, the monkey bars ranging from still horizontal rods, swaying horizontal rods, and hoops with swaying vertical rods in between. After the monkey bars was the barbed wire crawl through dirt- which kicked up a lot of dust- and then finally onto the rope climb. Climb to the top of the rope, ring the bell and either drop down or climb down from the rope and run back to the start. Once you completed your total run through, you were done. 

Giorgia and First Platoon watched as Fourth and Fifth Platoon finished their rounds on the course before they were called over to the trail. Second and Third Platoons were sitting in the bit of field next to the course after completing their runs. Sergeant Lance had joined the group to watch First Platoons run through of the course. 

"First Platoon! You're up!" Colonel Smith ordered as the group took their places in lines; Giorgia, Frances, Martha, Annie and one other took their spots up front just like when they fell into order at the flagpole. Colonel Smith gave the go and Giorgia was the first to take off. 

The rope grid was easy on the body, but challenging to the mind as Giorgia concentrated on lifting her legs high enough to escape the squares and keep moving, but aside from the fact, she was the first one to complete the first obstacle. When it came to the logs, she threw herself under, over and through the the logs that were held up at such a height where the only option to completion was to hurl yourself through the gap in the middle. Another obstacle done with ease. Next was the rope wall: a wall made up of a vertical rope grid. Giorgia remembered something Raymond told her about climbing the rope grid to board ships: Hands on the vertical, feet on the horizontal. She climbed the rope with ease, up and down the other side. The other girls noticed her method and followed suit, but the other liens had missed it and they were the ones who slowed their times with the rope wall. 

The barrel crawls were simple: crawl through and roll out the end. These barrels were big enough for ordinary army men to crawl through which gave the advantage to most of the women. Giorgia rolled out of the barrels and noticed she was well ahead of her group. She turned back, gave a quick cheer to the ones close by before continuing with her run. The 10 foot wall was a test of height and how high one could jump in order to get their hands and feet in the right spots in order to hoist themselves over the top and drop off the other side. Giorgia took a breathe before sprinting at the wall and pushing off the ground with everything she could muster before forcing her hands through gaps in the wood for leverage. Her feet didn't make it to the foot holds so instead of pushing up with her feet, Giorgia swung her legs to the right- using whatever arm and ab strength she had to hold herself in place- before swinging her legs at full force towards the left and over the top of the wall. She freed her hands from the holds mid way and grabbed onto the top and looked back at her Platoon members as her legs dangled behind her. Without thinking about landing, she pushed her torso away from the top of the wall and free-fell until her feet hit the ground. 

The sudden impact on the ground caused her to lose her balance and continue falling until her whole body hit the ground, but she didn't waste time in recovering and getting back up to her feet for the monkey bars. The varying types of handles through the rig threw Giorgia's mind for a spin, but she held on with the dwindling strength she had left and pushed through it till the end of the rig and her feet touched solid ground. As she ran from the monkey bars, she launched herself onto the ground and dove straight under the barbed wire. She squinted her eyes enough to keep as much dust out of them so she could still see and eventually she crawled out the other side. 

After she rubbed the dust from her eyes, Giorgia jogged to the next obstacle: the rope climb. She could feel her arms and legs begin to tremble from all the work she had put them through. Instead of thinking about the nearing pain in her limbs, Giorgia thought about how she was going to attempt to climb a strictly vertical rope. Raymond hadn't told her anything about these from his time in training, but she was determined to complete the course. As she reached up to the rope, she jumped a little, giving her some slack at the bottom to try and wrap her legs into a position where she could push up and aid in the climb. The rope took the longest for her as the rest of the First Platoon was starting to catch up. Frances had begun to start her climb as Giorgia was within arms length of the bell. 

With another deep breathe and one final hoist, Giorgia smacked the bell with her hand and since she had no further hold with her hands, she let go of the rope entirely and fell once more to the dusty ground. But the course wasn't over yet, she still had to run back to the start. So she used one of the posts holding the ropes in the air to pull herself to her feet before taking off in one last sprint of the day. She passed all the obstacles in receding order until she reached the line up markers and she collapsed into the grass. She heard a click of a stop watch before turning her head to see Sergeant Lance had timed her and wrote down the results as he and Colonel Smith continued to watch the rest of First Platoon. Martha and the other girl who started first had finished some time after Giorgia, followed by Frances and Annie. Eventually, everyone from First Platoon had completed the course. 

"Well, I believe it was a great first day. Training is dismissed for today." Colonel Smith announced before he and Sergeant Lance left the women in the field to collect themselves and return to barracks to clean up. Giorgia had remained on the ground, feeling dizzy and weak from the over-exertion she had put her body through in such a short time span. Frances and Martha had managed to get to their feet and stood above Giorgia, Martha blocking the sunlight from Giorgia's eyes.

"Great job guys." Giorgia huffed, feeling overall exhausted. 

"You gonna make it to tomorrow, Ace?" Frances asked. 

"You may have to carry me to barracks." Frances held out her hands for Giorgia, to which she weakly accepted. Martha grabbed under Giorgia's arms and the two hauled their exhausted Platoon leader to her feet. 

"I think you might have gone a little too hard on the course, there bud." Martha stated as the three began walking with all the platoons back to the barracks. 

First Day of training was a success, but there were so many days like this to come that Giorgia could only think of getting to a shower and sleeping the night away. 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Camp Aster Characters (mainly for my reminder):  
-  
Giorgia Marino: Dark brown hair, hazel/green eyes  
Frances Porter: red hair, dark blue eyes  
Martha Wayne: black hair, brown eyes  
Annie Benjamin: blonde hair, blue eyes  
Betty Harper: light brown hair, green eyes  
Twila Hopkins: dark brown hair, dark green eyes  
Violet Markson: dark blonde hair, green eyes  
Alice Müller: dark blonde hair, green eyes  
Emma Müller: blonde hair, blue/green eyes  
Amelia Müller: light blonde hair, bright blue eyes

**Author's Note:**

> ~Giorgia Marino~  
Born August 6th, 1921  
Dark brown hair, hazel/green eyes  
~Bruno Marino~  
Born August 20th, 1922  
Dark brown hair, hazel/green eyes  
~Irene Marino~  
Born April 22nd, 1926  
Blonde hair, blue eyes  
~Carla Marino~  
Born April 22nd, 1926  
Blonde hair, blue eyes  
-  
Giorgia volunteered to joined the Australian Nurse Corps, but rejected in 1939, the beginning of the second world war. Bruno joined the Australian Army in 1940, but was denied due to a Heart Murmur, but was give the job of a recruitment officer in downtown Melbourne.


End file.
